Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41733900›Full record

SynthesisBrain and behavior2026

Comparing Efficacy and Safety of Bridging Therapy Versus Endovascular Thrombectomy in Acute Basilar Artery Occlusion: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Muhammad Hassan Waseem, Zain Ul Abideen, Aiman Waheed, Sanan Rasheed, Muneeba Ahsan, Rimsha Adnan, Muhammad Wajih Ansari, Rowaid Ahmad, Zara Fahim, Pawan Kumar Thada and 2 more

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-AnalysisComparative Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Brain and behavior, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Muhammad Hassan WaseemAllama Iqbal Medical College, Lahore, Pakistan.
Zain Ul AbideenKing Edward Medical University, Lahore, Pakistan.
Aiman WaheedRawalpindi Medical University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Sanan RasheedRawalpindi Medical University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Muneeba AhsanDow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan.
Rimsha AdnanDow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan.
Muhammad Wajih AnsariUniversity of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA.
Rowaid AhmadUniversity of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA.
Zara FahimKing Edward Medical University, Lahore, Pakistan.
Pawan Kumar ThadaSotang Primary Hospital, Solukhumbu, Nepal.
Brandon Lucke-WoldUniversity of Florida, Florida, USA.
Adam A DmytriwNeuroendovascular Program, Massachusetts General Hospital & Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBasilar artery occlusion (BAO), a rare and severe stroke, causes high morbidity and mortality. This meta-analysis aims to compare bridging therapy, including endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) with intravenous thrombolysis (IVT), versus EVT alone in BAO.

methodsPubMed, Cochrane Central, and ScienceDirect were searched until May 2025. The risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were combined using a random effects model in Review Manager software. The quality assessment was conducted using the Cochrane Risk of Bias (RoB 2.0) and the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Publication bias was assessed visually via funnel plots and statistically using Egger's regression test. This review's protocol was registered on PROSPERO with the ID: CRD420251108752.

resultsA total of 14 studies, including 11 observational studies and 3 randomized controlled trials, with 3745 participants, were analyzed. Bridging therapy was associated with a significantly higher likelihood of achieving functional independence (modified Rankin Scale (mRS) ≤ 2) (RR = 1.27; 95%CI: [1.13, 1.43]; p < 0.0001; I

conclusionOur meta-analysis supports administering IVT before EVT for BAO, showing benefits in functional outcomes and mortality without increasing hemorrhage risk, although successful recanalization was similar in both groups.

Indexed as

Endovascular ProceduresThrombectomyThrombolytic TherapyVertebrobasilar InsufficiencyBasilar ArteryBridge TherapyHumansStrokeTreatment Outcomeacute ischemic strokebasilar artery occlusionbridging therapyendovascular thrombectomyintravenous thrombolysismeta‐analysis

Identifiers

PMID41733900
PMCPMC12931487

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.