Clopidogrel versus other antiplatelet agents in the secondary prevention of vascular events in adults with cerebrovascular disease

Acknowledgments The authors thank Elise Cogo for developing and executing the literature search, Eva Tsakonas for data extraction and quality assessment for the Guidelines section, Stella Chen for screening some of the alerts, Erin Russell for acting as second reviewer for the quality assessment of economic studies, Chris Cameron for examining the set-up of the economic model, and Doug Coyle for h [...] Atherosclerosis, which is a disease of the large and medium sized arteries, is caused by the deposition of lipids and platelets, and the accumulation of inflammatory cells, such as monocytes and macrophages, in the arterial wall. [...] This results in the formation of atherosclerotic plaques, which cause narrowing of the lumen and restriction of blood flow, mainly in the coronary, cerebral, and peripheral vessels.6,7 Atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries commonly causes myocardial infarction (MI) and angina pectoris.7 Atherosclerosis of the arteries supplying the central nervous system is a cause of stroke and transient cereb [...] Clopidogrel versus Other Antiplatelet Agents in the Secondary Prevention of Vascular Events 9 in Adults with Cerebrovascular Disease: Clinical and Cost-Effectiveness Analyses b) Evidence synthesis The comparison of the effects of the interventions would ideally be based on the assessment of head-to-head RCTs providing evidence on clinical effectiveness and safety. [...] The investigation of results from a re-analysis of the data after exclusion of the CHARISMA trial40 based on the unavailability of appropriate subpopulation data found that the estimates were comparable, and that no clinical interpretations were changed (data are not shown).