Timing of Antithrombotic Secondary Prevention in Patients with Intracranial Hemorrhage after Stroke Thrombolysis and Thrombectomy

In patients with acute ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic transformation (HT) of infarcted tissue frequently occurs after reperfusion treatment. We aimed to assess whether HT and its severity influences the start of secondary prevention therapy and increases the risk of stroke recurrence. In this retrospective dual-center study, we recruited ischemic stroke patients treated with thrombolysis, thrombectomy or both. Our primary outcome was the time between revascularization and the start of any secondary prevention therapy. The secondary outcome was ischemic stroke recurrence within three months. We compared patients with vs. without HT and no (n = 653), minor (n = 158) and major (n = 51) HT patients using propensity score matching. The delay in the start of antithrombotics or anticoagulants was median 24 h in no HT, 26 h in minor HT and 39 h in major HT. No and minor HT patients had similar rates of any stroke recurrence (3.4% (all ischemic) vs. 2.5% (1.6% ischemic plus 0.9% hemorrhagic)). Major HT patients had a higher stroke recurrence at 7.8% (3.9% ischemic, 3.9% hemorrhagic), but this difference did not reach significance. A total of 22% of major HT patients did not start any antithrombotic treatment during the three-month follow-up. In conclusion, the presence of HT influences the timing of secondary prevention in ischemic stroke patients undergoing reperfusion treatments. Minor HT did not delay the start of antithrombotics or anticoagulants compared to no HT, with no significant difference in safety outcomes. Major HT patients remain a clinical challenge with both a delayed or lacking start of treatment. In this group, we did not see a higher rate of ischemic recurrence; however, this may have been censored by elevated early mortality. While not reaching statistical significance, hemorrhagic recurrence was somewhat more common in this group, warranting further study using larger datasets.