Efficacy and safety of tirofiban in patients with acute ischemic stroke without large-vessel occlusion and not receiving intravenous thrombolysis: A randomized controlled open-label trial

To investigate the effectiveness and safety of tirofiban in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) without large-vessel occlusions and not receiving intravenous thrombolysis.

Overall, 267 cases were included in the study (134 cases in tirofiban group; 133 cases in control group). After admission, patients in the tirofiban group were administered tirofiban for at least 72 h, and aspirin 100 mg and hydroclopidogrel 75 mg were administered 4 h before discontinuation of tirofiban administration. All patients were followed for 3 months, and the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores on admission, 24 h, and 7 d after treatment, intracerebral hemorrhage transformation within 48 h from stroke onset, and bleeding were assessed.

There was no significant difference between both groups in the incidence of non-symptomatic and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH), extracranial hemorrhage events, and thrombocytopenia (p > 0.05). There was a significant different between the NIHSS scores at baseline and 7 d after treatment in the tirofiban group (p = 0.043). At 90 d after treatment, the proportion of patients with a good prognosis in the tirofiban group (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] = 0, 1) was higher than that in the control group (p = 0.021). There was no difference in the proportion of patients with a mRS score of 0–2 between the two groups (p > 0.05).

Administration of tirofiban for > 72 h (72 h–108 h) is safe and can improve the long-term (90 d) prognosis of patients with AIS without large-vessel occlusions and not receiving intravenous thrombolysis.