Oral Citicoline in Acute Ischemic Stroke

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: No single neuroprotective agent has been shown to influence outcome after acute stroke. Citicoline has been studied worldwide in many clinical trials with positive findings, but only 1 trial has obtained significant results in the primary efficacy variables. Our objective was to evaluate the effects of oral citicoline in patients with acute ischemic stroke by a data pooling analysis of clinical trials. The primary efficacy end point chosen was the common evaluation of recovery, combining National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale /=95 at 3 months using the generalized estimating equations analysis. METHODS: A systematic search of all prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trials with oral citicoline (MEDLINE, Cochrane, and Ferrer Group bibliographic databases) was undertaken. Individual patient data were extracted from each study and pooled in a single data file. The main inclusion criteria included compatible neuroimaging with ischemic stroke, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale >/=8, and prior modified Rankin Scale score </=1. Four clinical trials using various doses of oral citicoline (500, 1000, and 2000 mg) were identified. RESULTS: Of 1652 randomized patients, 1372 fulfilled the inclusion criteria (583 received placebo, 789 received citicoline). Recovery at 3 months was 25.2% in citicoline-treated patients and 20.2% in placebo-treated patients (odds ratio OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.10 to 1.62; P=0.0034). The dose showing the largest difference with placebo was 2000 mg, with 27.9% of patients achieving recovery (OR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.10 to 1.72; P=0.0043). The overall safety of citicoline was similar to placebo. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with oral citicoline within the first 24 hours after onset in patients with moderate to severe stroke increases the probability of complete recovery at 3 months.