北京天坛医院-王拥军CHANCE研究
全球多中心研究为卒中双抗治疗提供新证据——访北京天坛医院常务副院长王拥军教授

中国医药导报2020年8月第17卷第23期CHINA MEDICAL HERALD Vol.17No.23August 2020·封面报道·全球多中心研究为卒中双抗治疗提供新证据———访北京天坛医院常务副院长王拥军教授文图/《中国医药导报》主笔潘锋由北京药学会等主办的以“共同追求适宜的药物治疗”为主题的“第三届临床药物治疗大会”7月18至19日在北京举行,来自全国临床一线的医师、药师、护师等广大医药科技工作者参加了此次线上会议。
大会聚焦医药科学研究、生产制造和临床使用等生命科学热点领域,与会专家从治疗药物与药物治疗两个层面分享了国内外临床药物治疗的前沿进展,探讨了提高临床用药水平,促进有限医疗资源发挥最大效益的新思路和新方法。
7月16日国际顶级医学期刊《新英格兰医学杂志》(NEJM)发表替格瑞洛联合阿司匹林治疗缺血性卒中(THALES 研究)的最新研究成果,THALES 研究国际学术委员会主要成员之一、中国区PI、首都医科大学附属北京天坛医院常务副院长王拥军教授在7月19日举行的第三届临床药物治疗大会心脑血管疾病药物治疗分论坛上,以“解读THALES 试验”为题介绍了THALES 研究的主要成果。
王拥军教授表示,THALES 研究为急性缺血性脑卒中的双联抗血小板治疗提供了最新的循证医学证据,未来临床指南有可能推荐替格瑞洛联合阿司匹林作为双联抗血小板治疗的方案。
从单药到双药王拥军教授说,回顾历史缺血性脑血管病抗血小板治疗研究探索经历了从单药到双药三个时期。
第一个时期是1997年至2003年即阿司匹林单药期,开展了CAST 和IST 两个大型临床试验,旨在探索阿司匹林单药抗血小板治疗缺血性脑血管病的效果,两个试验共纳入40000多例患者。
CAST 和IST 研究证实,每天给予160~300毫克阿司匹林,2~4周疗程时间可减少卒中复发和卒中相关死亡。
第二个时期是2004年至2012年联合抗血小板治疗探索阶段,这一时期开展了多个临床试验以期验证在使用阿司匹林单药的基础上,联合其他抗血小板药物是否能取得更好的疗效,主要的临床试验包括2004年的第一个双抗试验MATCH、2005年的CA⁃RESS、2008年的PRoFESS、2007年的FASTER、2010年的CLATR 和2012年的SPS3等,但上述试验结果都是失败的。
NEJM:王拥军教授发现“双抗”显著降低卒中再发风险(CHANCE研究)

由首都医科大学附属北京天坛医院王拥军教授主持进行的氯吡格雷联合阿司匹林与阿司匹林单独治疗急性非致残性脑血管事件高危人群研究(colopidogrel in high-risk patients with acute non-disabling cerebrovascular events,简称CHANCE研究)该研究已被世界权威医学期刊《新英格兰医学杂志》(NEJM)接受,将于今天在新英格兰杂志发表。
此项研究在今年2月份美国夏威夷举行的2013年国际卒中大会(ISC)上公布后,引起广泛反响,在今天的天坛会正式发布。
这是目前为止,全球最大多中心、随机、双盲、双模拟、平行对照小卒中和TIA临床研究。
CHANCE研究结果显示,在短暂性脑缺血发作(TIA)或小卒中后相对短期应用阿司匹林及氯吡格雷联合治疗在降低卒中复发风险方面优于阿司匹林单独治疗,且并不伴有严重出血并发症风险的显著增加。
这项仅在中国进行的CHANCE研究领先于另一项在美国招募和进行的类似研究,即TIA和卒中血小板定向抑制(POINT)研究。
该研究纳入了5170例患者40岁及以上的TIA或小卒中的患者。
其发病时间在24小时内,被随机分配到两组:阿司匹林(首日负荷剂量为75-300mg,随后75mg/天)加安慰剂治疗组,或相同的阿司匹林剂量加氯吡格雷(首日负荷剂量为300mg,随后75mg/天)治疗组。
双抗治疗组的患者还需要经过21天之后停用阿司匹林,因为与其他亚组人群类似,中国的患者具有相对较高的出血风险。
研究结果表明,同时接受阿司匹林和氯吡格雷双抗治疗的患者卒中复发率更低。
90天随访时,双抗治疗组患者无卒中(包括缺血性和出血性卒中)生存的风险比(HR)为0.68(95%CI,0.57 - 0.81,P <0.001)。
对于联合次要终点事件(卒中,心肌梗死,血管性死亡),HR为0.69(95%CI,0.58 - 0.82,P <0.001)。
王拥军教授:缺血性卒中研究新时代|天坛会2022

王拥军教授:缺血性卒中研究新时代|天坛会2022中国卒中学会第八届学术年会暨天坛脑血管病会议于 8 月 6 日~8 月 7 日在北京召开。
今天的开幕式上,首都医科大学附属北京天坛医院王拥军教授所讲述的「缺血性卒中研究新时代」,让我们对脑血管发展的未来充满期待。
现笔者对王拥军教授的精彩演讲进行梳理,重点内容如下:一、致残性/非致残性缺血性卒中的治疗在中国卒中患者中,80% 为缺血性卒中。
随着医疗技术进步,在过去的近 10 年中,中国卒中整体上没有太多的升高,但缺血性卒中的比例越来越高,因此对缺血性卒中的治疗受到国内乃至全世界的重视。
根据是否致残,将缺血性卒中分为两类,一类是致残性缺血性卒中,一类是非致残性缺血性脑血管病。
目前,致残性卒中的治疗方法为再灌注治疗,包括静脉的 rt-PA,静脉的TNK,桥接治疗,直接取栓治疗目前还没有获得证据。
非致残的脑卒中的主要治疗方法是抗血小板治疗,包括阿司匹林、阿司匹林+ 氯吡格雷,阿司匹林 + 替格瑞洛,基因指导的抗血小板治疗等。
急性缺血性脑血管病的治疗策略图片来自讲者 ppt二、致残性缺血性脑血管病新的国际趋势致残性缺血性脑血管病的主要治疗是恢复缺血半暗带,恢复缺血半暗带的早期就是恢复血流,恢复血流就是再灌注,再灌注治疗的关键是「时间就是大脑」。
随着大型研究的进展,时间窗不断扩大。
目前指南推荐3 个时间窗,标准的静脉 rt-PA 为 4.5 小时,人工智能指导下的血管内治疗一级证据为 16 个小时,二级证据推荐到 24 小时。
时间窗的变迁图片来自讲者 ppt我们做的很多努力是为了挽留时间窗,进行早期治疗。
这些努力包括卒中中心的认证和建立,远程卒中系统,移动卒中单元和急诊卒中单元。
卒中中心的转诊为我们卒中医疗带来非常重要的变化;国外大型试验研究证实,飞行介入团队、远程卒中系统、移动卒中单元可使再灌注治疗率更高,是留住时间非常重要的措施。
中国部分地区也已使用移动单元进行治疗,但是面临很多问题,比如全国急救主体不是医院而是120 系统,不能满足急救需求;目前,院前急救缺乏法律保障,知情同意书和医疗费用的支付问题尚需解决,因使用医院想对较少,患者获益数据缺乏,结合实际情况,移动卒中单元目前不太适合中国医疗现状。
卒中:回眸2010

卒中:回眸2010卒中:回眸2010王拥军北京天坛医院副院长、神经内科主任北京市脑血管病抢救治疗中心主任中国卒中中心培训中心主任2010年平安夜,我和从事脑血管病研究的志同道合的朋友入住在首都机场旁边的希尔顿饭店,准备翌日讨论脑血管病二级预防的话题。
窗外的T3航站楼灯火通明,飞机不时起降。
而在酒店的另一端,是不眠的北京城。
在西方节日越来越盛行的今天,很多人在家里或者酒店欢度平安夜。
按照西方传统,在平安夜里全家人会团聚在客厅中,围绕在圣诞树旁唱圣诞歌曲,互相交换礼物,彼此分享一年来生活中的喜怒哀乐,表达内心的祝福以及爱。
回眸2010,卒中的研究也有很多喜怒哀乐,在卒中研究的大家庭里,也需要在年底彼此分享一年的收获和惋惜,传递对新一年研究的祝福。
就在此时,我收到了圣诞夜的一份大礼,美国卒中协会(American Stroke association,ASA)评选出2010年全球最有影响的十大研究进展。
这些研究进展或者改变了原有观念,或者认识了新的机制,或者发明了新的方法。
很多工作是开创性的,对于未来的研究方向和医疗行为影响巨大。
回眸十个研究进展,有助于把握顶级研究的脉络,疏理研究和临床思路,获得未来研究的启迪。
一.缺血性卒中的溶栓治疗——―时间就是大脑‖(Time is brain)缺血性卒中的溶栓治疗是个永远的话题,各国指南都把溶栓治疗做为缺血性卒中急性期治疗最为重要的手段。
传统的3小时时间窗缘于对包括NINDS研究在内的六个研究的荟萃分析,具有一级循证医学证据。
自2008年,ECASSⅢ发表之后,各国指南相继把静脉溶栓时间窗由3小时变成4.5小时,但它的依据并不是循证医学的一级证据。
2010年发表于《Lancet》杂志上有关静脉溶栓的汇总分析(pooled analysis)为4.5小时的溶栓治疗提供了循证医学的一级证据(1)。
这篇文章对包括NINDS、EPITHET、ATLANTIS、ECASS研究等8个静脉tPA溶栓试验进行汇总分析,汇总的患者总数是3670例,用安慰剂者为1820例,使用rtPA者为1850例。
分层理念贯穿卒中防治始终

分层理念贯穿卒中防治始终首都医科大学附属北京天坛医院王拥军早在1949年的Framingham研究中,首次提出了卒中防治的分层概念,建立了卒中危险分层模型,称之为FSP(卒中风险评估)。
该模型用于卒中一级预防的危险分层,根据某个体的卒中危险因素预测10年卒中风险。
卒中危险分层是合理使用预防干预手段的基础卒中危险因素众多,其中有些是常见和可干预的,如高血压、高胆固醇、糖尿病、吸烟、房颤、饮食、运动量等。
Framingham卒中风险评估根据危险因素的多少,将卒中风险分为低危、中危和高危3层。
不同程度的卒中发生风险决定了干预手段和强度的不同。
对于没有卒中危险因素或危险因素很少的低危人群,通过医学教育使其保持健康状态可能足以预防卒中发生;对于有多种卒中危险因素的中危人群,单纯医学教育已不足以预防卒中,此时可能需要生活方式干预或使用低强度的药物治疗;而对于卒中发生风险非常高的高危人群,医学教育和改善生活方式无异于杯水车薪,此时要使用高强度的药物治疗,才能降低患者滑向卒中深渊的风险。
因此,危险分层强调是否达到运用某种强度干预手段的阈值。
而每一种危险因素的干预都要达到干预阈值,我们要根据危险分层来选择合适的干预手段,否则对危险因素的干预将不足或浪费。
几种卒中危险因素的分层管理高胆固醇血症患者使用他汀预防卒中的分层管理2006年美国卒中学会(ASA)缺血性卒中/短暂性脑缺血发作(TIA)二级预防指南中,他汀使用的分层概念是基于卒中的病理生理学机制和NCEP ATPⅢ指南中的建议发展而来。
该指南有关他汀分层管理的主要内容包括:①伴冠心病或有动脉粥样硬化起源证据的缺血性卒中/TIA,胆固醇升高时应该按照ATP Ⅲ指南治疗,治疗方式包括改变生活方式、饮食和药物治疗(Ⅰ,A)。
首先推荐使用他汀类药物;其次,有冠心病和症状性动脉粥样硬化病变者,LDL-C 目标值应<100 mg/dl;第三,有多种危险因素的极高危患者,LDL-C目标值应<70 mg/dl。
王拥军教授:缺血性脑血管病二级预防的新靶点和新证据

王拥军教授:缺血性脑血管病二级预防的新靶点和新证据中国卒中学会第六届学术年会暨天坛国际脑血管病会议2020(CSA&TISC2020)已圆满落幕。
在10月10日主会场上王拥军教授指出,对于缺血性脑血管病急性期的治疗主要目的是降低复发率、残疾率和死亡率。
本文聚焦缺血性脑血管病二级预防的新靶点和新研究。
靶点药物研究主要集中在针对动脉粥样硬化、斑块炎症、斑块破裂及从斑块到血栓形成这四个层面。
针对斑块炎症GLP-1RAGLP-1RA除了在降糖的同时能够带来体重的减轻以外,还与血管生物学具有密切的关系,可以引起包括脑血管在内的所有血管生物学的改变。
2020年发表在Stroke上的一项关于GLP-1RA预防卒中的Meta 分析结果显示,GLP-1RA可使非致死性卒中风险降低15%,致死性卒中风险降低19%以及卒中总风险降低16%。
PCSK9抑制剂PCSK9抑制剂是一种新型的降脂治疗药物。
目前,阿利西尤单抗和依洛尤单抗治疗均已在我国获批上市。
FOURIER研究已证实依洛尤单抗对卒中的预防效果显著且稳定。
该研究纳入 27564 例受试者,纳入标准为:年龄40-85岁,既往存在心肌梗死(MI)、缺血性卒中或症状性外周动脉疾病(PAD)以及在优化他汀治疗基础上LDL-C ≥ 70 mg/dL 或非HDL-C ≥ 100 mg/dL 。
入组患者按照1:1 被随机分入依洛尤单抗组(140mg/2w 或420mg/M)和安慰剂组。
结果显示,依洛尤单抗可以显著持久地降低LDL-C。
与安慰剂组相比,依洛尤单抗组的LDL-C(中位数为30mg/dl)降幅达到59%,降幅绝对值56mg/dl。
研究结果还发现,与安慰剂组相比,依洛尤单抗组可将主要终点事件(心血管死亡、心肌梗死、卒中、不稳定型心绞痛住院或冠状动脉血运重建的复合终点)的风险降低15%,关键次要终点(心血管死亡、心肌梗死或卒中的复合终点)的风险降低20%,其中卒中的风险降低21%。
王拥军教授:双联抗血小板里程碑THALES研究解读

王拥军教授:双联抗血小板里程碑THALES研究解读抗血小板治疗是缺血性卒中治疗及预防的重要策略,在近 20 年间取得了飞速发展,但从单药阿司匹林抗血小板治疗到双联抗血小板的突破,经历了艰难而又令人兴奋的探索历程。
探索历程上的里程碑截至目前共有8 项临床试验,奠定了缺血性卒中抗血小板治疗研究历程中的 8 个里程碑(图 1)。
图 1:八个里程碑——CAST/IST(1997),MATCH(2004),PRoFESS(2008),SPS3(2012),CHANCE(2013),SOCRATES(2016),POINT(2018)和 THALES(2020)在王拥军教授的 CHANCE 研究(第 5 个里程碑)发表之前,双联抗血小板策略一直缺乏循证医学证据,学术界普遍认为双联抗血小板治疗不仅不能降低卒中复发率,相反还会增加出血风险。
王拥军教授结合系统分析和临床实践,提出了抗血小板治疗的新方法,即在发病后 24 小时的时间窗内,启动中低剂量阿司匹林与氯吡格雷双靶点联合抗血小板药物治疗,短程应用21 天(简称为CHANCE 新方法),经 4 年的临床试验证实此方法可使高危非致残性脑血管病患者 90 天复发风险相对下降 32%,且未增加出血风险。
2013 国际卒中大会,王拥军教授首次向全世界公布 CHANCE 研究的结果,引起全球瞩目。
CHANCE 研究首次突破「双抗」治疗「禁区」,为缺血性卒中和 TIA 患者的治疗开辟新途径。
CHANCE 研究也是双联抗血小板治疗历程上的分水岭,将全球神经病学家、临床研究专家的目光聚焦至高危非致残性脑血管病患者人群。
王拥军教授作为这一研究领域的引领者,也是THALES 研究学术指导委员会核心专家及中国区 PI,将为大家解读第 8 个里程碑式研究的结果。
THALES研究解读THALES 研究(NCT0335429)是一项以临床事件为主要终点的全球多中心三期试验。
研究旨在比较「替格瑞洛联合阿司匹林」双联抗血小板治疗与阿司匹林单药治疗用于非重症急性缺血性脑卒中( NIHSS 评分≤ 5 分)或高危短暂性脑缺血发作患者(TIA,ABCD 2 评分≥ 6 分或合并同侧颅内外动脉狭窄)的疗效和安全性。
脑卒中患者的营养状况临床分析与对策

脑卒中患者的营养状况临床分析与对策当患者不能经口摄入足够热量时,就有营养不良的风险。
肠外、肠内营养支持治疗可防治因进食困难导致的进行性机体消耗,并可减少器官和组织在营养不良时的发病风险。
因此,在疾病发生、发展的过程中,临床医生应及时对患者进行营养风险评估。
当患者需要营养支持治疗时只要其消化道存在一定的消化和吸收功能,就应尽可能接受肠内营养支持治疗。
根据患者的具体情况选择恰当的肠内营养途径和肠内营养制剂,可有效改善患者的营养不良状况、缩短住院时间、减少住院费用及并发症并提高患者的生活质量。
脑卒中已成为严重危害人民健康的主要疾病之一。
不少神经科医生将脑卒中治疗重点放在药物治疗及肢体活动康复治疗上,而且多数患者及家属认为药物和康复运动才是治疗脑卒中的有效方法。
然而,常有一部分患者经过一段时间的治疗之后,病情虽稳定,但神经功能恢复程度却并不令人满意,原因之一是临床医生对患者的营养支持治疗不够。
首都医科大学附属北京天坛医院神经内科王拥军、赵性泉教授等,对200余例急性卒中住院患者进行的一项研究显示,约五成以上的患者合并营养不良,且随着住院时间的延长合并营养不良的发生率还会逐渐增加。
脑卒中后营养不良的原因很多,主要与原发性疾病有关,四至六成的脑卒中患者可出现吞咽障碍。
尽管60%患者可在1个月内恢复吞咽功能,但不少患者在1年后仍有吞咽障碍。
其他原因包括精神因素(焦虑、抑郁)、病前即存在营养不良等;临床医生忽视及时的足量营养补充,是十分重要的医源性因素。
采用便利抽样方法,抽取神经内科84例患者进行对比。
纳入标准:符合1995年第四届全国脑血管病会议修订的脑卒中的诊断标准,并经头部CT或MRI检查证实。
年龄在40~90岁。
排除心、肺、肝、肾功能衰竭和癌症患者。
随机将患者分为对照组和干预组,每组42例。
男女性别例数平衡。
干预组即对于吞咽障碍的病人予以早期鼻饲管注食营养剂,注食速度建议为20-80ml/h和50-120ml/h;以臂围、体重作为营养学指标,观察其变化趋势、主要合并症、神经功能等因素与营养不良的相关性。
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T h e ne w engl a nd jour na l o f medicinen engl j med 1Clopidogrel with Aspirin in Acute Minor Stroke or Transient Ischemic AttackYongjun Wang, M.D., Yilong Wang, M.D., Ph.D., Xingquan Zhao, M.D., Ph.D.,Liping Liu, M.D., Ph.D., David Wang, D.O., F.A.H.A., F.A.A.N., Chunxue Wang, M.D., Ph.D., Chen Wang, M.D., Hao Li, Ph.D.,Xia Meng, M.D., Ph.D., Liying Cui, M.D., Ph.D., Jianping Jia, M.D., Ph.D., Qiang Dong, M.D., Ph.D., Anding Xu, M.D., Ph.D., Jinsheng Zeng, M.D., Ph.D.,Yansheng Li, M.D., Ph.D., Zhimin Wang, M.D., Haiqin Xia, M.D., and S. Claiborne Johnston, M.D., Ph.D., for the CHANCE Investigators*From Beijing Tiantan Hospital (Yongjun Wang, Yilong Wang, X.Z., L.L., Chunxue Wang, Chen Wang, H.L., X.M.) and Xuan Wu Hospital (J.J.), Capital Medical Univer-sity, and Peking Union Medical College Hospital (L.C.), Beijing; Huashan Hospital of Fudan University (Q.D.) and Renji Hos-pital of Shanghai Jiaotong University (Y.L.), Shanghai; First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University (A.X.) and First Affiliated Hos-pital of Sun Yat-Sen University (J.Z.), Guangzhou; Taizhou First People’s Hos-pital, Taizhou (Z.W.); and Taiyuan Iron and Steel Group, General Hospital, Taiyuan (H.X.) — all in China; Illinois Neurological Institute Stroke Network, Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis Healthcare Sys-tem, University of Illinois College of Med-icine, Peoria (D.W.); and the Departments of Neurology and Epidemiology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco (S.C.J.). Address reprint requests to Dr. Yongjun Wang at No. 6 Tiantanxili, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100050, Chi-na, or at yongjunwang1962@; or to Dr. Johnston at the Departments of Neurology and Epidemiology, University of California, 505 Parnassus Ave., M-798, San Francisco, CA 94143-0114, or at clay .johnston@.*A complete list of investigators and insti-tutions participating in the Clopidogrel in High-Risk Patients with Acute Nondis-abling Cerebrovascular Events (CHANCE) trial is provided in the Supplementary Appendix, available at .This article was published on June 26, 2013, at .N Engl J Med 2013.DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1215340Copyright © 2013 Massachusetts Medical Society.ABSTR ACTBACKGROUNDStroke is common during the first few weeks after a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or minor ischemic stroke. Combination therapy with clopidogrel and aspirin may provide greater protection against subsequent stroke than aspirin alone.METHODSIn a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted at 114 centers in China, we randomly assigned 5170 patients within 24 hours after the onset of minor ischemic stroke or high-risk TIA to combination therapy with clopidogrel and aspi-rin (clopidogrel at an initial dose of 300 mg, followed by 75 mg per day for 90 days, plus aspirin at a dose of 75 mg per day for the first 21 days) or to placebo plus as-pirin (75 mg per day for 90 days). All participants received open-label aspirin at a clinician-determined dose of 75 to 300 mg on day 1. The primary outcome was stroke (ischemic or hemorrhagic) during 90 days of follow-up in an intention-to-treat analysis. Treatment differences were assessed with the use of a Cox propor-tional-hazards model, with study center as a random effect.RESULTSStroke occurred in 8.2% of patients in the clopidogrel–aspirin group, as compared with 11.7% of those in the aspirin group (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% confidence inter-val, 0.57 to 0.81; P<0.001). Moderate or severe hemorrhage occurred in seven patients (0.3%) in the clopidogrel–aspirin group and in eight (0.3%) in the aspirin group (P = 0.73); the rate of hemorrhagic stroke was 0.3% in each group.CONCLUSIONSAmong patients with TIA or minor stroke who can be treated within 24 hours after the onset of symptoms, the combination of clopidogrel and aspirin is supe-rior to aspirin alone for reducing the risk of stroke in the first 90 days and does not increase the risk of hemorrhage. (Funded by the Ministry of Science and Tech-nology of the People’s Republic of China; CHANCE number, NCT00979589.)T h e ne w engl a nd jour na l o f medicinen engl j med 2Transient ischemic attack (TIA) and acute minor ischemic stroke are common and often lead to disabling events. In Chi-na, there are approximately 3 million new strokes every year, and approximately 30% of them are minor ischemic strokes.1,2 The incidence of TIA in China has not been determined, but on the basis of the incidence in other countries, there are probably more than 2 million TIAs annually in China.3-5 The risk of another stroke occurring after a TIA or minor stroke is high, with approx-imately 10 to 20% of patients having a stroke within 3 months after the index event; most of these strokes occur within the first 2 days.5-8The role of antiplatelet therapy for secondary stroke prevention has been well established. How-ever, aspirin is the only antiplatelet agent that has been studied in the acute phase of stroke, during which its benefit is modest.9,10 Aspirin and clopidogrel synergistically inhibit platelet ag-gregation,11,12 and such dual therapy reduces the risk of recurrent ischemic events in patients with the acute coronary syndrome.13,14 Large-scale trials of secondary prevention of ischemic events after stroke have not shown a benefit of the combina-tion of clopidogrel and aspirin.15-17 However, these trials did not study the early, high-risk period af-ter stroke, they included some patients with strokes of moderate severity, and they included few if any patients with TIA. Three small pilot trials have shown trends toward a benefit of the combination therapy and minimal safety concerns in patients with minor stroke or TIA.18-20We conducted the Clopidogrel in High-Risk Patients with Acute Nondisabling Cerebrovascu-lar Events (CHANCE) trial to test the hypothesis that 3 months of treatment with a combination of clopidogrel and aspirin would reduce the risk of recurrent stroke, as compared with aspirin alone, among patients with acute high-risk TIA or minor ischemic stroke.METHODSSTUDY OVERSIGHTWe conducted this study according to the proto-col and statistical analysis plan, which are avail-able with the full text of this article at . The trial was designed by three of the authors and was overseen by the executive committee, which had full access to the data. Data collection and en-try were performed by staff at the Tiantan Clinical Trial and Research Center for Stroke, where the data analysis was performed. One of the authors had full access to an independent database for any questions regarding the analyses. All mem-bers of the writing committee contributed to and approved an earlier draft of this manuscript, which was prepared without professional edito-rial assistance. The first and last authors made the decision to submit the manuscript for publi-cation. All the authors assume responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the data and the fidelity of this report to the study protocol. There was no confidentiality agreement between the study sponsor (the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China) and the investigators. There was no commercial support for this study.All the participants or their legal proxies pro-vided written informed consent. The CHANCE protocol was approved by the ethics committee at each study center. Clopidogrel and the match-ing placebo were purchased from Sanofi-Aventis, which had no other role in the study.STUDY POPULATIONPatients who met the following inclusion criteria were eligible: age of 40 years or older; diagnosis of an acute minor ischemic stroke or TIA; and ability to start the study drug within 24 hours after symptom onset, which was defined as the point at which the patient reported no longer be-ing in a normal condition. Acute minor stroke was defined by a score of 3 or less at the time of randomization on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS; scores range from 0 to 42, with higher scores indicating greater deficits). TIA was defined as focal brain ischemia with res-olution of symptoms within 24 hours after onset plus a moderate-to-high risk of stroke recurrence (defined as a score of ≥4 at the time of randomiza-tion on the ABCD,2 which assesses the risk of stroke on the basis of age, blood pressure, clinical features, duration of TIA, and presence or absence of diabetes; scores range from 0 to 7, with higher scores indicating greater short-term risk).All patients with possible clinical neurologic events during the follow-up period underwent computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head. Patients were excluded if they had any of the following: hemorrhage;Clopidogrel with Aspirin in Stroke or TIAn engl j med 3other conditions, such as vascular malformation, tumor, abscess, or other major nonischemic brain disease; isolated sensory symptoms (e.g., numb-ness), isolated visual changes, or isolated dizzi-ness or vertigo without evidence of acute infarc-tion on baseline CT or MRI of the head; a score of more than 2 on the modified Rankin scale (scores range from 0 [no symptoms] to 6 [death]) immediately before the occurrence of the index ischemic stroke or TIA, indicating moderate dis-ability or worse at baseline; an NIHSS score of 4 or more at randomization; a clear indication for anticoagulation therapy (presumed cardiac source of embolus, such as atrial fibrillation or prosthetic cardiac valve) or a contraindication to clopidogrel or aspirin; history of intracranial hem-orrhage; anticipated requirement for long-term nonstudy antiplatelet drugs or for nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs affecting platelet func-tion; heparin therapy or oral anticoagulation ther-apy within 10 days before randomization; gas-trointestinal bleeding or major surgery within the previous 3 months; planned or probable revas-cularization (any angioplasty or vascular surgery) within 3 months after screening (if clinically indicated, vascular imaging was to be performed before randomization, whenever possible); planned surgery or interventional treatment requiring cessation of the study drug; TIA or minor stroke caused by angiography or surgery; or severe non-cardiovascular coexisting condition, with a life expectancy of less than 3 months. Women of childbearing age who were not practicing reliable contraception and did not have a documented negative pregnancy test and patients receiving other investigational drugs or devices were also excluded (see Table S1 in the Supplementary Ap-pendix, available at ). No patients in-cluded in the study were treated with throm-bolysis around the time of randomization.STUDY DESIGNCHANCE was a randomized, double-blind, pla-cebo-controlled clinical trial conducted at 114 clinical centers in China; details of the rationale for the study and its design have been published previously.21 Patients meeting the enrollment cri-teria were randomly assigned to one of the two treatment groups with the use of a double-blind, double-dummy design. The site investigator called into an automated system that randomly assigneda number corresponding to a medication kit stored at the study site, and the medication in the kit was administered to the patient.Both groups received open-label aspirin on day 1 (with the dose ranging from 75 to 300 mg, at the discretion of the treating physician). Patients randomly assigned to the clopidogrel–aspirin group received a loading dose of 300 mg of clopid-ogrel on day 1, followed by a dose of 75 mg per day on days 2 through 90, aspirin at a dose of 75 mg per day on days 2 through 21, and placebo aspirin on days 22 through 90. Patients randomly assigned to the aspirin group received a placebo version of clopidogrel on days 1 through 90 and aspirin at a dose of 75 mg per day on days 2 through 90. Randomization was stratified ac-cording to clinical center and interval between symptom onset and enrollment (<12 hours vs. 12 to 24 hours). The primary objective was to assess the effects of the two treatment regimens on the incidence of stroke in the first 90 days after acute minor stroke or high-risk TIA.STUDY OUTCOMESThe primary efficacy outcome was a new stroke event (ischemic or hemorrhagic) at 90 days. Ische-mic stroke was defined as an acute focal infarc-tion of the brain or retina with one of the follow-ing: sudden onset of a new focal neurologic deficit, with clinical or imaging evidence of infarction lasting 24 hours or more and not attributable to a nonischemic cause (i.e., not associated with brain infection, trauma, tumor, seizure, severe meta-bolic disease, or degenerative neurologic disease); a new focal neurologic deficit lasting for less than 24 hours and not attributable to a nonischemic cause but accompanied by neuroimaging evidence of new brain infarction; or rapid worsening of an existing focal neurologic deficit lasting more than 24 hours and not attributable to a nonischemic cause, accompanied by new ischemic changes on MRI or CT of the brain and clearly distinct from the index ischemic event. Hemorrhagic stroke was defined as acute extravasation of blood into the brain parenchyma or subarachnoid space with as-sociated neurologic symptoms. Recurrent stroke was considered to be disabling if the score on the modified Rankin scale was 2 or more.The primary safety outcome was a moderate-to-severe bleeding event, according to the Global Utilization of Streptokinase and Tissue Plasmino-T h e ne w engl a nd jour na l o f medicinen engl j med 4gen Activator for Occluded Coronary Arteries (GUSTO) definition.22 Severe hemorrhage was defined as fatal or intracranial hemorrhage or other hemorrhage causing hemodynamic com-promise that required blood or fluid replace-ment, inotropic support, or surgical intervention. Moderate hemorrhage was defined as bleeding that required transfusion of blood but did not lead to hemodynamic compromise requiring in-tervention.22Key secondary efficacy outcomes included a new clinical vascular event (ischemic stroke, hem-orrhagic stroke, myocardial infarction, or vascu-lar death), analyzed as a composite outcome and also as individual outcomes. Vascular death was defined as death due to stroke (ischemic or hem-orrhagic), systemic hemorrhage, myocardial in-farction, congestive heart failure, pulmonary em-bolism, sudden death, or arrhythmia. Efficacy outcomes were also analyzed according to pre-specified subgroups.All reported efficacy and safety outcomes were confirmed by a central adjudication committee that was unaware of the study-group assignments. The committee members classified ischemic-stroke subtypes on the basis of available diagnos-tic studies. A data and safety monitoring board whose members were selected by the sponsor was in place to ensure the safety of patients during the study, with predetermined periodic assess-ments of safety and stopping rules.STATISTICAL ANALYSISWe calculated that a sample of 5100 patients would provide 90% power to detect a relative risk reduction of 22% in the clopidogrel–aspirin group, with a two-sided type I error of 0.05, assuming an event rate of 14% in the aspirin group and a 5% overall rate of withdrawal (defined as medica-tion nonadherence).21No patient withdrew between the time of randomization and the administration of the first dose of study medication; all analyses were based on the population of patients who under-went randomization. We compared the baseline characteristics of the patients in the two study groups. Proportions were used for categorical variables, and medians with interquartile ranges were used for continuous variables. Time to ran-domization was calculated as a group mean. Dif-ferences between study groups in the rate of stroke (ischemic or hemorrhagic) during the 90-day follow-up period were assessed with the use of a Cox proportional-hazards model, with pooled study centers (≥20 patients) as a random effect.Hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals are reported. When there were multiple events of the same type, the time to the first event was used in the model. Data from patients who had no events during the study were censored at the time of study termination or death. We used this approach to maximize the time-dependent infor-mation in the trial while maintaining the ease of interpretation of risks. For each model, the proportional-hazards assumption was assessed by testing the interaction between treatment and time. In addition, we assessed whether the treat-ment effect differed in certain prespecified sub-groups by testing the treatment-by-subgroup in-teraction effect with the use of Cox models. All tests were two-sided, and a P value of 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance. All statistical analyses were performed with the use of SAS software, version 9.0 (SAS Institute).R ESULTSSTUDY PATIENTS AND FOLLOW-UPBetween October 2009 and July 2012, a total of 41,561 patients with stroke or TIA were screened at 114 clinical sites; 5170 patients were enrolled, with 2584 randomly assigned to the clopidogrel–aspi-rin group and 2586 to the aspirin group. The most common reasons for exclusion were delayed pre-sentation (26.4% of screened patients); moderate or severe stroke (10.4%); intracranial hemorrhage (7.0%); low-risk TIA, defined as a score of <4 on the ABCD 2 (6.5%); or contraindication to clopido-grel or aspirin (6.0%) (Fig. S3 in the Supplemen-tary Appendix). The two groups were well bal-anced regarding baseline characteristics (Table 1).The median age was 62 years, and 33.8% of the patients were women. A total of 65.7% of the patients had a history of hypertension, 21.1% had diabetes, and 43.0% were current or former smokers. The median time from the onset of the qualifying minor stroke or TIA to randomiza-tion was 13 hours. The index event was a TIA in 1445 patients (27.9%). A total of 36 patients (0.7%) — 20 in the clopidogrel–aspirin group and 16 in the aspirin group — were lost to fol-low-up; 165 patients (6.4%) in the clopidogrel–aspirin group and 146 (5.6%) in the aspirin group discontinued the study medication beforeClopidogrel with Aspirin in Stroke or TIAn engl j med 5the end of the study (Fig. S3 in the Supplemen-tary Appendix).PRIMARY OUTCOMEStroke occurred in 212 patients (8.2%) in the clopidogrel–aspirin group, as compared with 303 patients (11.7%) in the aspirin group (hazard ra-tio, 0.68; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.57 to 0.81; P<0.001) (Table 2 and Fig. 1). Fatal or dis-abling stroke occurred in 135 patients (5.2%) in the clopidogrel–aspirin group and in 177 (6.8%) in the aspirin group (hazard ratio, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.60 to 0.94; P = 0.01). Ischemic stroke occurred in 204 patients (7.9%) in the clopidogrel–aspirin group and in 295 (11.4%) in the aspirin group (hazard ratio, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.56 to 0.81; P<0.001). Hemorrhagic stroke occurred in 8 patients in each of the two study groups (0.3% of each group).KEY SECONDARY AND OTHER EFFICACY OUTCOMESThe composite outcome of vascular events oc-curred in 216 patients (8.4%) in the clopidogrel–aspirin group, as compared with 307 patients (11.9%) in the aspirin group (hazard ratio, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.58 to 0.82; P<0.001) (Table 2, and Fig. S4 in the Supplementary Appendix). Death from any cause occurred in 0.4% of the patients in each group. Vascular death (including death from hemorrhagic stroke) occurred in 6 patients (0.2%) in the clopidogrel–aspirin group and in 5 (0.2%) in the aspirin group. TIA occurred in 39 patients (1.5%) in the clopidogrel–aspirin group and in 47 (1.8%) in the aspirin group (P = 0.36).BLEEDING EVENTSModerate or severe hemorrhage, as defined by means of the GUSTO criteria, occurred in seven patients (0.3%) in the clopidogrel–aspirin group and in eight (0.3%) in the aspirin group (P = 0.73) (Table 2). The rate of any bleeding event was 2.3% in the clopidogrel–aspirin group as com-pared with 1.6% in the aspirin group (hazardr atio, 1.41; 95% CI, 0.95 to 2.10; P = 0.09) (Table 2).SUBGROUPSThe reduction in the rate of stroke and combined secondary vascular events with clopidogrel and aspirin was consistent across all major subgroups (Fig. 2, and Fig. S5 in the Supplementary Appen-dix). There were no significant interactions in any of the 11 predefined subgroups (P>0.10 forall comparisons).* There were no significant differences between the treatment groups for any characteristic. Additional baseline characteristics are reported in Table S2 in the Supplementary Appendix. TIA denotes transient ischemic attack.† The body-mass index is the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters.‡ Data are only for the 1445 patients who had a TIA. The ABCD 2 assesses the risk of stroke on the basis of age, blood pressure, clinical features, duration of TIA, and presence or absence of diabetes, with scores ranging from 0 to 7 and higher scores indicating greater short-term risk.T h e ne w engl a nd jour na l o f medicinen engl j med 6SAFETYAdverse events occurred in similar proportions of patients in the two groups (5.8% in the clopid o grel–aspirin group and 5.0% in the aspi-rin group). The proportions of patients with se-rious adverse events were also similar (1.0% and 0.8% in the clopidogrel–aspirin and aspirin groups, respectively) (Table S4 in the Supple-mentary Appendix).DISCUSSIONIn this large-scale trial involving patients with high-risk TIA or minor ischemic stroke, we found that the addition of clopidogrel to aspirin within 24 hours after symptom onset reduced the risk of subsequent stroke by 32.0%, as compared withaspirin alone. Event rates during this early period were very high, and clopidogrel was associated with an absolute risk reduction of 3.5 percentage points, equivalent to a number needed to treat of 29 patients to prevent one stroke over a period of 90 days. Combination therapy with clopidogrel and aspirin, as compared with aspirin alone, was not associated with an increased incidence of hemorrhage, although there was a worrisome trend in overall bleeding toward more events with the combination therapy.The results of our trial differ from those of other trials of combination therapy with clo-pidogrel and aspirin after cerebral ischemic events.7,8,17 One possible explanation is that, unlike previous trials, our trial targeted a population at particularly high risk forrecur-* Bleeding events were defined according to the Global Utilization of Streptokinase and Tissue Plasminogen Activator for Occluded Coronary Arteries criteria as follows: severe bleeding was defined as fatal or intracranial hemorrhage or other hemorrhage causing hemodynamic compromise that required blood or fluid replacement, inotropic support, or surgi-cal intervention; moderate bleeding as bleeding that required transfusion of blood but did not lead to hemodynamic compromise requiring intervention; and mild bleeding as bleeding not requiring transfusion and not causing hemody-namic compromise (e.g., subcutaneous bleeding, mild hematomas, and oozing from puncture sites).22Clopidogrel with Aspirin in Stroke or TIAn engl j med 7Previous trials included patients with more se-recurrent ischemia is particularly high. may explain why other trials did not show show an increased risk of hemorrhage.stroke were particularly steep in the first treatment groups diverged dramatically. Subse-suggests that the requirement for randomiza-tion within 24 hours after the onset of symp-toms, with nearly half the patients within 12 hours (and treated shortly thereaf-relative difference in the efficacy outcome be-tween patients randomly assigned to a a longer interval, absolute event rates higher among those who were enrolled within 12 hours. In clinical practice, treatment with clopidogrel and aspirin as soon as possible af-ter symptom onset is likely to produce the greatest absolute benefit, since ischemic event rates are highest in the initial hours after symptoms appear.Our trial was conducted entirely in China, a country with approximately 150 to 250 deaths from stroke per 100,000 persons per year, which is five times as high as the rate in the United States.23 Although diagnostic tools and therapies commonly used in the United States and Europe are available in most hospitals in China, some patients cannot afford this level of care.24,25 Secondary prevention practices are also less rigorous in China, where rates of treatment of hypertension, diabetes, and hyper-lipidemia are low, as shown in our study popu-lation (Table S3 in the Supplementary Appen-dix). Furthermore, the distribution of stroke subtypes in China differs from that in more developed countries; China has a higher inci-dence of large-artery intracranial atherosclero-sis 25 and a higher prevalence of genetic poly-morphisms that affect the metabolism of clopidogrel.26 The Platelet-Oriented Inhibition in New TIA and Minor Ischemic Stroke (POINT)trial ( number, NCT00991029), sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, which is similar to our trial, is now enrolling patients at sites primarily in the United States.27 The POINT trial is assessing a higher loading dose of clopidogrel (600 mg) and a narrower time window (treatment within 12 hours after symptom onset) than were used in our study.Several common clinical conditions mimic TIA, including seizures, migraine, peripheral vertigo, syncope, and anxiety.28 To minimize the risk of enrolling patients with TIA mimics, we excluded all patients with isolated sensory symptoms, isolated visual changes, or isolated dizziness or vertigo without evidence of acute infarction on baseline CT or MRI of the head. In addition, enrollment of patients with TIA was limited to those with a high ABCD 2 score (≥4) to increase the likelihood that spells were due to true TIAs and to ensure that we were enrolling patients who were at high risk for subsequent ischemic events.29 The risk of sub-sequent stroke in the trial was high for this patient population, suggesting that our strategy was successful. Our findings may not apply to other populations of patients with ischemic events.T h e ne w engl a nd jour na l o f medicinen engl j med 8In conclusion, our study shows that among patients with high-risk TIA or minor ischemic stroke who are initially seen within 24 hours after symptom onset, treatment with clopidogrel plus aspirin for 21 days, followed by clopidogrel alone for a total of 90 days, is superior to aspirin alone in reducing the risk of subsequent stroke events. 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