BACKGROUND: Successful reperfusion after endovascular thrombectomy does not consistently result in functional independence in acute ischaemic stroke. We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of tirofiban, a glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor antagonist, given to patients with acute ischaemic stroke who had had a successful endovascular reperfusion.
METHODS: This multicentre, double-blind, randomised controlled trial at 82 hospitals in China included patients with acute ischaemic stroke due to anterior-circulation large-vessel occlusion who had had a successful reperfusion after thrombectomy. Eligible patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either tirofiban (intra-arterial bolus 5 µg/kg followed by intravenous infusion 0·1 µg/kg per min for 24 h) or placebo (administered with the same volume and according to the same bolus and infusion procedures as tirofiban), using computer-generated randomisation with fixed blocks stratified by study site. Patients, treating clinicians, investigators, and outcome assessors were masked to group assignments. The primary efficacy outcome was functional independence at 90 days (with a modified Rankin Scale score of 0-2), assessed in all randomly assigned participants (intention-to-treat population). Safety outcomes were symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage within 48 h, any evidence of intracranial haemorrhage on imaging within 48 h, and death within 90 days, and they were assessed in patients having received the study treatment with at least one safety evaluation. The Adjunct Tirofiban Treatment after Successful Endovascular Thrombectomy Recanalisation in Acute Anterior Circulation Ischaemic Stroke (ATTRACTION) trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT06265051 and is now completed.
FINDINGS: Of 1686 patients assessed, 1380 were randomly assigned to either the tirofiban group (689 patients) or the placebo group (691 patients) between April 9, 2024, and Sept 29, 2025. Median age was 71 years (IQR 62-77), 591 (43%) patients were female and 789 (57%) were male, and 1367 (99%) were of Han Chinese ethnicity. No patients were lost to follow-up at 90 days. Functional independence at 90 days was recorded in 340 (49%) of 689 patients in the tirofiban group and 299 (43%) of 691 patients in the placebo group (unadjusted absolute risk difference 6·1 percentage points, 95% CI 0·8-11·3, p=0·023; adjusted risk ratio 1·15, 95% CI 1·03-1·27, p=0·0092). There was no significant difference between study groups in the proportion of patients with symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage within 48 h (82 [12%] of 687 patients in the tirofiban group vs 65 [9%] of 691 patients in the placebo group), the proportion with any intracranial haemorrhage within 48 h (235 [34%] patients vs 219 [32%] patients), and 90-day mortality (126 [18%] patients vs 131 [19%] patients).
INTERPRETATION: In patients with acute ischaemic stroke due to anterior-circulation large-vessel occlusion achieving successful reperfusion, adjunctive tirofiban increased the likelihood of functional independence compared with placebo. Although symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage occurred numerically more often with tirofiban, the between-group difference was not significant, and this finding warrants caution when weighing potential benefit against bleeding risk.
FUNDING: Tongji Hospital Clinical Research Fund.
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| Physician |  |
, McMaster University