The safety and effectiveness of early anti-platelet therapy after alteplase for acute ischemic stroke: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: For acute ischemic stroke patients, there is a risk of reocclusion after intravenous thrombolysis. In theory, early anti-platelet therapy can reduce the risk of vessel reocclusion. Although current guidelines do not recommend routine anti-platelet therapy within 24 h of intravenous thrombolytic therapy, many studies disagreed with it, especially after the emergence of new anti-platelet drugs. It is necessary to conduct a meta-analysis based on high-quality randomized controlled studies to re-evaluate this treatment strategy. METHODS: Literature retrieval was systematically conducted in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, Web of sicence, clinical trials, CNKI and Wanfang Data, for searching randomized controlled trials (published between January 1, 2000 and April 30, 2020 with no language restrictions) comparing early (within 24 h) with routine (after 24 h) anti-platelet-aggregation therapy after rt-PA intravenous thrombolysis. The primary safety endpoint and primary efficacy indicator are the incidence of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage and a good prognosis at 90-day (modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 0-1 or return to baseline mRS), respectively. We assessed pooled data by use of a random-effects model. FINDINGS: Of the 378 identified studies, only 3 were eligible and included in our analysis (N = 1008 participants). Compared with routine treatment, early anti-platelet-aggregation therapy after rt-PA intravenous thrombolysis in acute ischemic stroke patients did not affect the 90-day efficacy (95% CI 0.97 - 1.32). In terms of safety assessment, the early use of anti-platelet-aggregation drugs after thrombolysis has a neutral effect on the risk of intracranial hemorrhage, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage, and bleeding from other systemic sites. CONCLUSION: Early anti-platelet therapy after alteplase did not benefit the acute ischemic stroke patients based on the current evidence. However, more clinical trials and statistical evidence are still needed.