Dual antiplatelet therapy in stroke and ICAS: Subgroup analysis of CHANCE

Neurology. 2015 Sep 29;85(13):1154-62. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000001972.

Abstract

AB OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate whether the efficacy and safety of clopidogrel plus aspirin vs aspirin alone were consistent between patients with and without intracranial arterial stenosis (ICAS), in the Clopidogrel in High-Risk Patients with Acute Non-disabling Cerebrovascular Events (CHANCE) trial.

Methods: We assessed the interaction of the treatment effects of the 2 antiplatelet therapies among patients with and without ICAS, identified by magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) in CHANCE (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT00979589).

Results: Overall, 1,089 patients with MRA images available in CHANCE were included in this subanalysis, 608 patients (55.8%) with ICAS and 481 (44.2%) without. Patients with ICAS had higher rates of recurrent stroke (12.5% vs 5.4%; p<0.0001) at 90 days than those without. But there was no statistically significant treatment by presence of ICAS interaction on either the primary outcome of any stroke (hazard ratio for clopidogrel plus aspirin vs aspirin alone: 0.79 [0.47-1.32] vs 1.12 [0.56-2.25]; interaction p=0.522) or the safety outcome of any bleeding event (interaction p=0.277).

Conclusions: The results indicated higher rate of recurrent stroke in minor stroke or high-risk TIA patients with ICAS than in those without. However, there was no significant difference in the response to the 2 antiplatelet therapies between patients with and without ICAS in the CHANCE trial. Classification of evidence: This study provides Class II evidence that for patients with acute minor stroke or TIA with and without ICAS identified by MRA, clopidogrel plus aspirin is not significantly different than aspirin alone in preventing recurrent stroke.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aspirin / administration & dosage
  • Aspirin / adverse effects
  • Aspirin / pharmacology*
  • Clopidogrel
  • Constriction, Pathologic / pathology
  • Double-Blind Method
  • Drug Therapy, Combination
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Intracranial Arterial Diseases / drug therapy*
  • Intracranial Arterial Diseases / prevention & control
  • Ischemic Attack, Transient / drug therapy*
  • Ischemic Attack, Transient / prevention & control
  • Magnetic Resonance Angiography
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / administration & dosage
  • Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / adverse effects
  • Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • Recurrence
  • Stroke / drug therapy*
  • Stroke / prevention & control
  • Ticlopidine / administration & dosage
  • Ticlopidine / adverse effects
  • Ticlopidine / analogs & derivatives*
  • Ticlopidine / pharmacology
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors
  • Clopidogrel
  • Ticlopidine
  • Aspirin

Associated data

  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT00979589