Regional Anesthesia for Carotid Endarterectomy in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke (Pilot Study)

Objective. The aim of this study is to assess the safety of the use of regional anesthesia for performing carotid endarterectomy (CEA) in patients in the acute phase of ischemic stroke.

Material and methods. The study included 66 patients in the acute phase of ischemic stroke (atherothrom-botic subtype according to the TOAST classification) who underwent carotid endarterectomy. The inclusion criteria for the study were as follows: acute phase of atherothrombotic ischemic stroke (first 28 days), ipsilateral symptomatic ≥ 50% stenosis of the internal carotid artery, 1-4 points neurological deficit according to the modified Rankin Scale (mRS), 1-13 points neurological deficit according to the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), size of the cerebral ischemic lesion ≤ 4 cm. This single-center prospective cohort study compared two anesthetic approaches, regional anesthesia (RA, 46 patients) and general anesthesia (GA, 20 patients). The RA techniques included ultrasound-guided superficial and deep cervical plexus blocks on the side of the surgery.

Results. The study found no significant differences in the baseline patient characteristics, surgery techniques and clinical outcomes between the groups. There were no neurological or cardiovascular toxic reactions to the local anesthetics. Conversions from RA to GA were not performed. In the RA group, recurrent ipsilateral ischemic strokes, myocardial infarctions, wound hemorrhagic complications and lethal outcomes did not occur.

Conclusion. This pilot study has demonstrated the safety of RA for performing CEA in patients in the acute phase of ischemic stroke. RA provides adequate neuromonitoring and timely intraoperative recognition of «new» ischemic complications. To compare the efficacy of RA and GA for performing CEA in patients with acute ischemic stroke, large randomized controlled trials are needed.

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