ArticleClinical neuroradiology2026
Learning Curve of Mechanical Thrombectomy: Procedural Efficiency and Clinical Outcomes in Early Operator Experience.
Article in Clinical neuroradiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe learning curve for interventional neuroradiologists starting independent mechanical thrombectomy (MT) remains insufficiently understood. This study investigated associations between operator experience, procedural performance, and clinical outcomes to estimate the number of procedures for expert-level performance.
methodsWe retrospectively analyzed MT procedures from our stroke registry (2020-2024). Operators with low-to-intermediate prior neurovascular experience were followed during their first 20-50 independent cases. Procedural outcomes included procedure duration, number of passes, door-to-groin-puncture time, first-pass success, reperfusion success (modified treatment in cerebral infarction (mTICI) ≥ 2b-3), and complications. Learning curves were benchmarked against expert operator performance. Associations between operator experience and outcomes were evaluated with mixed-effects models. Clinical outcomes were assessed using changes in the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and modified Rankin Scale (mRS) from admission to discharge and at 3‑month follow-up.
results295 MT procedures were performed by seven operators (median 50 each; interquartile range 25-50). Procedure duration decreased significantly with experience (β = -0.7 min per procedure; 95% CI -1.2 to -0.1; p = 0.01). Linear extrapolation suggested that procedural efficiency comparable to the local expert benchmark may be reached after approximately 188 procedures, although this estimate should be interpreted cautiously. Other procedural metrics showed non-significant improvements. NIHSS at discharge and mRS at 3‑month follow-up did not differ by experience level.
conclusionIncreasing operator experience was associated with shorter procedure duration, whereas no significant associations were observed for other procedural metrics. No differences in procedural complications or clinical outcomes were detected between operator experience groups.
Indexed as
Identifiers
42484633What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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 OpenQuestion graph.