Research Paper Volume 13, Issue 4 pp 5426—5441

Sequential tirofiban infusions combined with endovascular treatment may improve outcomes in acute ischemic stroke - a meta-analysis

Hongchen Zhao1, , Yiwei Feng1, , Xiaoming Rong2, , Yiting Mao1, , Zigao Wang1, , Yifeng Ling1, , Qiang Dong1,3, , Wenjie Cao1, ,

  • 1 Department of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
  • 2 Department of Neurology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
  • 3 State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China

Received: June 29, 2020       Accepted: November 30, 2020       Published: February 11, 2021      

https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.202473
How to Cite

Copyright: © 2021 Zhao et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Abstract

In this meta-analysis, we explored whether tirofiban could safely improve outcomes when combined with endovascular therapy in acute ischemic stroke with large vessel occlusion. We searched the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and The Cochrane Library databases from January 2000 to October 2019 for relevant RCTs/non-RCTs. A total of 13 trials involving 2584 patients, of whom 893 (34.5%) received tirofiban, were ultimately included in the meta-analysis. The results suggested that tirofiban improved patient independence at 90 days (51.2% vs 42.4%; OR 1.26; p =0.02) without increasing the risk of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (OR 1.01; p =0.96) or mortality (OR 0.86; p =0.09). There was no association between the use of tirofiban and recanalization rate (OR 1.35; p =0.11). Subgroup analysis showed that a loading dose followed by maintenance doses, but not a single dose, of tirofiban increased favorable 90-day functional outcomes (OR 1.49; p =0.0008). Moreover, low maintenance doses may be more effective than high maintenance doses (OR 1.41; p =0.02). These results suggest that adjunctive tirofiban treatment administered as a loading dose followed by low-dose maintenance may improve functional outcomes of endovascular therapy in acute ischemic stroke.

Abbreviations

RCT: Randomized controlled trial; AIS: Acute ischemic stroke; LAO: Large artery occlusion; OR: Odds ratios; sICH: symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage; GP: Glycoprotein; EVT: Endovascular therapy.