Stroke: Reperfusion Post-Thrombolysis
The Mass General Stroke Service
Mass General’s Stroke Service provides comprehensive care, including diagnosis, prevention and treatment, for patients with stroke and other cerebrovascular diseases.
Mass General’s Stroke Service provides comprehensive care, including diagnosis, prevention and treatment, for patients with stroke and other cerebrovascular diseases.
Ischemic stroke, which accounts for about 87% of all strokes, occurs when a blockage in the blood vessels in the brain damages the brain tissue. Immediate treatment may minimize long-term disability and even death from a stroke.
Reperfusion therapy for ischemic stroke is performed to restore blood flow to the regions of brain that are impacted and reduce the chance of stroke-related disability and mortality. Reperfusion therapy may include thrombolytic therapy, where drugs are used to dissolve blood clots and restore normal blood flow. For some patients, it may include mechanical endovascular reperfusion to remove blood clots from the brain.
The Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction (TICI) Reperfusion Grade is used to measure cerebral reperfusion after mechanical endovascular reperfusion therapy. The scoring system rates reperfusion on a scale of 0-3, with 3 being the best outcome.
This Joint Commission national quality measure reports the percentage of patients with a post-treatment reperfusion grade of Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction (TICI) 2B or higher at the end of mechanical reperfusion therapy.
Mass General’s Stroke Service provides comprehensive care, including diagnosis, prevention and treatment, for patients with stroke and other cerebrovascular diseases.