A recent study found transradial access for mechanical thrombectomy to be non-inferior to transfemoral access in terms of final recanalization. The key highlights of this study were published in the Stroke Journal.
Transfemoral access has been the standard method for accessing blocked arteries in stroke patients with large vessel occlusions. And so, a new investigation by David Hernandez and team introduced transradial access as a reliable alternative. This investigator-initiated, single-center clinical trial compared the efficacy and safety of transradial and transfemoral access in stroke patients undergoing mechanical thrombectomy.

The major findings of this study were;
The outcomes associated with transradial access was non-inferior to its traditional method which revealed achieving a successful recanalization for stroke intervention. Out of the 120 patients enrolled in the trial, the participants who were assigned to transradial access demonstrated a 96.6% achieving successful recanalization. This finding suggests that transradial access is a reliable method for restoring blood flow to the brain in stroke patients.
The procedural delays were noticed in the transradial access group, with longer median times recorded from angiosuite arrival to both first pass and recanalization when compared to the transfemoral approach. Despite this, both methods presented similar rates of severe complications and access conversions.
These pivotal findings offer clinicians an alternative approach for delivering life-saving treatment to stroke patients. However, maximum caution and further research is much imperative to fully elucidate the optimal approach in considering the procedural delays associated with the transradial access.
Source:
Hernandez, D., Requena, M., Olivé Gadea, M., De Dios Lascuevas, M., Gramegna, L. L., Muchada, M., García-Tornel, Á., Diana, F., Rizzo, F., Rivera, E., Rubiera, M., Piñana, C., Rodrigo-Gisbert, M., Rodriguez-Luna, D., PAGOLA, J., Carmona, T., Juega, J., Rodriguez-Villatoro, N., Molina, C. A., … Tomasello, A. (2024). Radial Versus Femoral Access for Mechanical Thrombectomy in Stroke Patients: A Non-Inferiority Randomized Clinical Trial. In Stroke. Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). https://doi.org/10.1161/strokeaha.124.046360