Comparative effectiveness of combined antiplatelet treatments in acute minor ischaemic stroke

Shina Kim, Joon Tae Kim, Ji Sung Lee, Beom Joon Kim, Jong Moo Park, Kyusik Kang, Soo Joo Lee, Jae Guk Kim, Jae Kwan Cha, Dae Hyun Kim, Tai Hwan Park, Sang Soon Park, Kyung Bok Lee, Jun Lee, Keun Sik Hong, Yong Jin Cho, Hong Kyun Park, Byung Chul Lee, Kyung Ho Yu, Mi Sun OhDong Eog Kim, Wi Sun Ryu, Jay Chol Choi, Jee Hyun Kwon, Wook Joo Kim, Dong Ick Shin, Sung Il Sohn, Jeong Ho Hong, Man Seok Park, Kang Ho Choi, Ki Hyun Cho, Juneyoung Lee, Hee Joon Bae

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background No study has thoroughly compared the effectiveness of combined antiplatelet treatments (other than clopidogrel-aspirin) versus clopidogrel-aspirin or aspirin alone for early secondary prevention in acute ischaemic stroke. Methods We identified patients with acute, minor, non-cardiogenic ischaemic stroke treated with aspirin alone, clopidogrel-aspirin or other combination treatment. Propensity scores considering the inverse probability of treatment weighting were used to adjust for baseline imbalances. The primary outcome was the composite of all strokes (ischaemic or haemorrhagic), myocardial infarction and all-cause mortality at 3 months. Results Among 12 234 patients (male: 61.9%; age: 65.5±13 years) who met the eligibility criteria, aspirin, clopidogrel-aspirin and other combination treatments were administered in 52.2%, 42.9% and 4.9% of patients, respectively. In the crude analysis, the primary outcome event at 3 months occurred in 14.5% of the other combination group, 14.4% of the aspirin group and 13.0% of the clopidogrel-aspirin group. In the weighted Cox proportional hazards analysis, the 3-month primary outcome event occurred less frequently in the clopidogrel-aspirin group than in the other combination group (weighted HR: 0.82 (0.59-1.13)), while no association was found between the aspirin group (weighted HR: 1.04 (0.76-1.44)) or other combination group and the 3-month primary outcome. Conclusion Other combined antiplatelet treatment, compared with aspirin alone or clopidogrel-aspirin, was not associated with reduced risks of primary composite vascular events or recurrent stroke during the first 3 months after stroke. Therefore, the results suggest that other combination treatments, particularly the cilostazol-based combination, may not be effective alternatives for clopidogrel-aspirin to prevent early vascular events in patients with acute minor stroke. Further exploration in clinical trials will be needed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)13-21
Number of pages9
JournalStroke and Vascular Neurology
Volume7
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Feb 2022

Keywords

  • stroke

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