General anesthesia improves stroke recovery after clot removal surgery

General anesthesia during clot-removal stroke surgery improves neurological outcomes at three months compared to moderate sedation. A UTHealth Houston-led study found patients under general anesthesia had better neurological function post-procedure. This randomized trial is the first to show this difference in endovascular therapy for acute ischemic stroke. The research, published in JAMA Neurology, enrolled 260 patients. Previous studies had not identified outcome differences between the two anesthesia methods.