Background Transradial access (TRA) is becoming more popular in neurointerventional radiology procedures and has been associated with reduced mortality, morbidity and access site complications. Guidelines state that TRA is a feasible option for posterior circulation thrombectomy however the evidence base is limited and no systematic literature review has yet been undertaken to evaluate its safety and efficacy. Methods The Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, TRIP and Embase databases were searched. Outcomes collected included TICI scores, puncture to recanalisation time, mRS scores at 90 days and access site complications. Results 291 records were identified and 31 full text articles were assessed for eligibility. Eight studies met the inclusion criteria and were meta-analysed. The rate of TICI 2b-3 was 94.7% (89.7–99.8% at 95% CI), TICI 3 was 67.9% (42.2–93.6% at 95% CI) and mRS 0–2 at 90 days was 49.8% (31.5–68.1% at 95% CI). Median puncture to reperfusion times were extracted from three studies as 24 (IQR 18–40), 24 (IQR 17.5–56.5) and 27 (IQR 24–33.5) minutes. No access site complications were reported. TICI 2b-3, TICI 3 and mRS scores were comparable to data for transfemoral access (TFA) from a large systematic review. Puncture to recanalisation times appeared lower than the TFA data but statistical comparison of this outcome was not possible. Conclusions The use of TRA in posterior circulation thrombectomy is safe and effective with comparable results to TFA. Further research with a larger sample size is required to fully investigate the potential for shortened puncture to recanalisation times.

Anatomy knowledge is a foundation of learning medicine and is traditionally taught to students using cadaveric dissection. In the last few decades, a variety of adjuncts to teaching anatomy have been developed including plastic models, plastinated human specimens, living anatomy (surface) and radiological images to aid learning. Portable ultrasound (US) has become a useful learning tool that is safe and non-invasive allowing for visualisation of organs and associated structures. The role of ultrasound has been widely discussed in the literature with some institutions integrating it into the medical curriculum. This protocol describes a planned study that aims to evaluate the effectiveness of ultrasound in teaching anatomy to medical students by systematically reviewing the existing literature available in the public domain. Data gathered by these studies can be extracted and analysed to provide evidence of the effectiveness of ultrasound in medical education. The outcome will potentially support medical educators in integrating ultrasound aided learning into the curriculum with the aim of improving students understanding of anatomy. A secondary outcome may be basic understanding and competency in ultrasound.