Episode 983: Head-of-Bed Position in Large Vessel Occlusion Strokes

Recent prospective randomized clinical trial assessed optimal head-of-bed positioning in patients with LVO

0º vs. 30º elevation
Objective was to determine superiority of the two angles in stability prior to thrombectomy for LVO patients

45 patients randomized to the group with 0° head positioning and 47 patients randomized to the group with 30° head positioning

Patients in the 30º group experienced worsening of NIHSS by 2 points or more
Patients with head position at 0° showed score stability
Hazard ratio 34.40; 95% CI, 4.65-254.37; P
All-cause death occurred in 2 patients in the 0° group, compared with 10 patients in the 30° group.

Results suggest that 0º positioning of the head of the bed may be protective to maintain clinical stability in patients with LVO prior to thrombectomy