The Prophylactic Use of Tirofiban versus Oral Antiplatelet Medications in Stent-Assisted Coiling of Intracranial Aneurysms: A Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: The protocol for optimal antiplatelet therapy to prevent thromboembolic and hemorrhagic complications in patients with cerebral aneurysms using an endovascular approach is not clear.

PURPOSE: Our study analyzed the safety and efficacy of prophylactic tirofiban administration compared with oral antiplatelet drug therapy.

DATA SOURCES: We used the PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and Cochrane library data bases.

STUDY SELECTION: Our study consisted of all case series with >5 patients that reported treatment-related outcomes of patients undergoing endovascular procedures pretreated with tirofiban or oral antiplatelet drug therapy.

DATA ANALYSIS: Random effects or fixed effects meta-analysis was used to pool the cumulative rate of complications, perioperative mortality, and good clinical outcomes.

DATA SYNTHESIS: Fifteen studies with 1981 patients were registered. Thromboembolic complications were significantly lower in the tirofiban group (3.6%; 95% CI, 1.9%–5.8%) compared with the dual-antiplatelet therapy group (8.5%, 95% CI, 4.5%–13%; P = .04). Pretreatment with tirofiban did not remarkably increase the rate of hemorrhagic complications (3.5%; 95% CI, 1.8%–5.6%) compared with dual-antiplatelet therapy (5.1%; 95% CI, 2.6%–8.5%; P = .371). There was a trend toward lower perioperative mortality with tirofiban (0.8%; 95% CI, 0.2%–1.6%) compared with dual-antiplatelet therapy (1.2%; 95% CI, 0.7%–2.0%; P = .412). There was no significant difference in the safety and efficacy between the tirofiban bolus plus drip and drip alone.

LIMITATIONS: The limitations are selection and publication biases.

CONCLUSIONS: Prophylactic therapy with tirofiban resulted in significantly lower rates of thromboembolic complications with no increase in hemorrhagic events or mortality than the prophylactic use of dual-antiplatelet therapy.