. Materials and Methods
Patients with acute ischemia in the MCA territory who
presented within 4.5 hours after the symptom onset and
who received intravenous thrombolytic therapy at Eskise-
hir Osmangazi University Emergency and the Neurology
Department were included in the study from December
2009 to March 2012. Consecutive patients were treated with
intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (iv-rtPA) follow-
ing SITS-MOST criteria [
4
]. Written confirmation from
the Eskisehir Clinical Research Ethics Committee, dated
16.12.2009 and numbered 2009/29, was received for this study
and an “Informed Consent Form” was received from all
patients or their relatives.
Patients with insufficient temporal window were excluded
from the study. Patients with extracranial carotid stenosis
were also excluded, given the possibility of hemodynamic
changes in middle cerebral artery blood flow velocities due
to proximal stenosis.