Impact of carotid tortuosity on outcome after endovascular thrombectomy

Background and objectives Endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) is efficacious in patients with large vessel occlusion stroke (LVO). We explored whether internal carotid (ICA) tortuosity increases the technical difficulty of EVT thereby lowering the chances of successful recanalization and favorable outcomes. Patients and methods Consecutive patients with LVO and patent ICAs who underwent EVT were included. Carotid tortuosity was determined on pre-EVT CTA and classified by raters blinded to outcomes into: type 1—straight ICA trunk and type 2—severe tortuosity potentially impeding adequate catheter placement. Thrombolysis in cerebral infarction (TICI) 2b-3 was considered successful recanalization, and 90-day-modified Rankin Scale ≤ 2 was considered favorable functional outcome. Results Among 302 patients (mean age 70 ± 15, median NIHSS 17), 53% had type 1, and 47% type 2 tortuosity. Overall, 85% had successful recanalization. Patients with type 2 tortuosity were significantly older ( p < 0.0001) and less frequently achieved successful recanalization (80% vs. 90%; p = 0.019) but had similar outcomes compared with those without tortuosity. On regression analysis, marked tortuosity was associated with lower chances of successful recanalization (OR 0.43 95% CI 0.20–0.92) but had no effect on clinical outcomes. Conclusions Carotid tortuosity does not appear to impact the likelihood of favorable functional outcome but may influence recanalization.