JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Effect of a balloon-expandable intracranial stent vs medical therapy on risk of stroke in patients with symptomatic intracranial stenosis: the VISSIT randomized clinical trial.
Intracranial stenosis is one of the most common etiologies of stroke. To our knowledge, no randomized clinical trials have compared balloon-expandable stent treatment with medical therapy in symptomatic intracranial arterial stenosis. ⋯ Among patients with symptomatic intracranial arterial stenosis, the use of a balloon-expandable stent compared with medical therapy resulted in an increased 12-month risk of added stroke or TIA in the same territory, and increased 30-day risk of any stroke or TIA. These findings do not support the use of a balloon-expandable stent for patients with symptomatic intracranial arterial stenosis.