Abstract Number ‐ 158: Balloon Guide Catheter Effect on First Pass and Revascularization Success.

Introduction The use of balloon guide catheters (BGC) during endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) has been suggested to lower the risk of distal embolization and improve first pass revascularization rates in patients with acute ischemic stroke. However, a recent large randomized controlled trial suggests there is no significant difference in initial and final revascularization scores among EVT performed with a BGC versus without. We assessed the influence of BGC use during EVT on first pass (FP) and revascularization (RV) success in a historical database from a multi‐hospital health system. Methods Patients with anterior circulation large vessel occlusion undergoing EVT with stent‐retriever or aspiration between 2012 and 2018 at three Kaiser Permanente Southern California (KPSC) region hospitals were identified from the database. BGC use was determined through manual chart review. A chi‐squared test compared the relationship of BGC use with the primary outcomes. The primary outcomes were FP and RV success using a dichotomized TICI score of 2b or greater. Results 218 patients were included in the study. BGC was used in 35/218 (16%) of patients. There was no significant difference in age (p = 0.65), gender (p = 0.92), presenting NIHSS (p = 0.45), hypertension (p = 0.66), diabetes (p = 0.85), atrial fibrillation (p = 0.36), serum glucose (p = 0.43), or pre‐EVT TPA administration (p = 0.36). Among EVT with BGC, FP success was 13/35 (37%) and EVT without BGC had a FP success of 76/183 (42%); p = 0.71. Successful final RV with BGC occurred in 30/35 (86%) while EVT without BGC had a successful final RV of 162/183 (89%); p = 0.78. Because BGC use occurred only with stent‐retriever treatment, subgroup analysis was performed comparing the BGC group (N = 35) with the non‐BGC stent‐retriever (N = 88) and aspiration thrombectomy (N = 95) groups. There was no significant difference in FP (p = 0.88) or RV success (p = 0.42) between the BGC (37% FP and 86% RV), non‐BGC stent‐retriever (42% FP and 92% RV), and aspiration thrombectomy groups (41% FP and 86% RV). Conclusions Among our population, BGC use was not associated with higher first pass or final revascularization success.