TREAT-AIS: A Multicenter National Registry

BACKGROUND: Endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) is the standard therapy for patients with acute ischemic stroke secondary to large-artery occlusion. In January 2019, the Taiwan Stroke Society established a nationwide TREAT-AIS (Taiwan Registry of Endovascular Thrombectomy for Acute Ischemic Stroke). Here, we provide the study design, current progress, and baseline data of TREAT-AIS. METHODS: TREAT-AIS is a multicenter prospective registration program in Taiwan. Patients aged >= 20 years who underwent EVT for acute ischemic stroke were recruited. The key items on the registration form were divided into general stroke demographics and EVT-related sections. The main outcome of effectiveness was functional independence (modified Rankin Scale score, 0-2) at 3 months. The influence of sex on post-EVT outcomes was also analyzed in the presented study. RESULTS: By the end of June 2022, there were 10 medical centers and 9 community hospitals participating in the TREAT-AIS and a total of 1522 patients (mean +/- SD age, 71.2 +/- 13.6 years; men, 55.6%) being enrolled. The median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score on admission was 18 (interquartile range, 12-23). The major cause of stroke was cardioembolism (43.6%), followed by large-artery atherosclerosis (36.8%) and an undetermined cause (15.4%). Functional independence at 3 months poststroke was achieved in 36.2% of the patients. Male patients were more likely to have functional independence at 3 months compared with female patients (40.4% versus 30.8%; P<0.001). However, the sex difference in functional independence became nonsignificant (odds ratio, 1.12 [95% CI, 0.96-1.46] in men compared with women) after adjusting for age, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score at admission, and recanalization status after EVT. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated the current progress of the TREAT-AIS in capturing real-world EVT data in Taiwan. The TREAT-AIS will provide valuable insights into the real-world practice of EVT in patients with acute stroke and the related quality of care in Asian patients.