Oral anticoagulation versus antiplatelet therapy for secondary stroke prevention in patients with embolic stroke of undetermined source: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the efficacy and safety of direct oral anticoagulation (DOAC) compared with antiplatelet therapy for secondary stroke prevention in adult patients with embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS).

Method

We searched major databases (Embase, MEDLINE, CINAHL, CENTRAL, and Web of Science) for RCTs published until March 2021. The primary outcome was recurrent stroke, and the main safety outcomes were major bleeding and clinically relevant non-major bleeding (CRNB). We assessed risk of bias using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. We used a random-effects model to determine pooled risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals in the datasets and key subgroups.

Findings

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SUBMITTER: Hariharan NN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9134773 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature