According to the RICAMIS trial, stroke patients benefited from Remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) when administered for 2 weeks among survivors.

The study involved 1893 patients with acute moderate ischemic stroke. Within 48 hours of the beginning of symptoms, eligible patients were randomly given either guideline-based therapy alone (n = 971) or RIC as an adjuvant for 10 to 14 days. The outstanding functional result at 90 days, measured as a modified Rankin Scale score ranging from 0 to 1, was the main objective. All endpoints underwent blinded evaluation and comprehensive analysis set analysis.

It was observed that 1776 patients completed the trial. At 90 days, 67.4% of those in the RIC group and 62.0% of those in the control group had excellent functional outcomes (risk difference, 5.4% [95% CI, 1.0%-9.9%]; odds ratio, 1.27 [95% CI, 1.05-1.54]; P =.02). In the RIC group, 6.8% of patients experienced some adverse effects, compared to 5.6% in the control group.

Treatment with remote ischemia conditioning compared to standard care significantly enhanced the likelihood of excellent neurologic function at 90 days in persons with acute moderate ischemic stroke. Experts added that RIC might be the first human-translatable cerebroprotective treatment but more data and further studies were necessary to conclude the effectiveness of this intervention. (MedPage Today August 16, 2022 ; JAMA 2022; DOI: 10.1001/jama.2022.13123.)