Recommendations on Patient Selection* 1 Intracranial vessel occlusion must be diagnosed with non-invasive imaging whenever possible before considering treatment with mechanical thrombectomy. (Grade A, Level 1a, KSU Grade A)  2 If vessel imaging is not available at baseline, a NIHSS score of ≥ 9 within three, and ≥ 7 points within six hours may indicate the presence of large vessel occlusion. (Grade B, Level 2a, KSU Grade B)  3 Patients with radiological signs of large infarcts (for ex. using the ASPECTS score) may be unsuitable for thrombectomy. (Grade B, Level 2a, KSU Grade B) 4 Imaging techniques for determining infarct and penumbra sizes can be used for patient selection and correlate with functional outcome after mechanical thrombectomy. (Grade B, Level 1b, KSU Grade B) 5 High age alone is not a reason to withhold mechanical thrombectomy as an adjunctive treatment. (Grade A, Level 1a, KSU Grade A) *Adapted from ‘Consensus statement on mechanical thrombectomy in acute ischemic stroke’ – ESO-Karolinska Stroke Update 2014 in collaboration with ESMINT and ESNR.

Table 1: Recommendations on patient selection