A COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF ANTIPLATELET REGIMENS FOR PREVENTION OF RECURRENCE IN PATIENTS WITH ISCHEMIC STROKE – A PILOT STUDY

Background: Prevention of recurrence is important for patients with ischemic stroke. The purpose of the study was to compare the effectiveness of two antiplatelet regimens-aspirin plus clopidogrel versus aspirin plus cilostazol in early secondary stroke prevention using National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) Scores. Methods: In this study, we randomly assigned 30 patients to receive aspirin plus clopidogrel once daily or to receive aspirin once daily plus cilostazol twice daily. The patients were followed up for a period of three months, and the NIHSS scores were taken on admission, and every month thereafter. After completion of the study duration, the scores of both the groups were compared, and results were interpreted. Results and Discussion: More number of patients were found to be in the age group of 60- 70 years with a mean age of 63 years. In both the groups, the percentage of females was higher than that of males. Hypertension (80%) and diabetes mellitus (56.6%) appeared to be the major risk factors. The percentage of death rate in the aspirin/clopidogrel group (20.25%) was higher than that of the aspirin/cilostazol group (6.75%). Recurrent stroke and vascular events did not occur in any group. Conclusion: Aspirin/cilostazol significantly reduced the risk of early stroke recurrence based on NIHSS scores. Hence, it can be considered as a supplement to aspirin or an alternative to clopidogrel in dual therapy for secondary prevention of ischemic stroke. There is no evidence that either of the two antiplatelet regimens was superior to the other in the prevention of recurrent stroke.