The Andalusian Agency for Health Technology Assessment assessed transcranial Doppler ultrasonography for treatment of acute ischemic stroke

Committee of Benefits, Assurance and Financing commissioned the Andalusian Agency for Health Technology Assessment (AETSA) to assess application of transcranial Doppler ultrasonography in patients with acute ischemic stroke within the annual work plan.

In the end of November, AETSA published final report with results of evaluation. The aim of this work was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of this procedure in adjunction to treatment with intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator and its possible ability to increase efficacy of intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator.

For this purpose, the systematic literature review was performed. Identified evidence regarding mortality, recovery and recanalization were considered as insufficient to make a final conclusion about efficacy of transcranial Doppler ultrasonography in adjunction to intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator in comparison to treatment with intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator alone. Furthermore, safety outcomes were discordant in relation to sonothrombolysis (symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage).

Additionally, authors of the report proposed several lines of future research that could generate evidence that would help decision-making in clinical practice. Thus, randomized controlled study, non-randomized controlled and cohort studies were considered appropriate to define efficacy and safety of procedure in ideal and real clinical practice. Outcomes that should be assessed within clinical studies as well as conditions for use of devices were also proposed.

See full-text report in Spanish here.

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