Characteristics, management and response to alteplase in China versus non-China participants of the ENCHANTED trial

Abstract

© 2017 BMJ Publishing Group. All rights reserved. Background The characteristics of patients with acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) and their management vary across regions, which may influence outcomes. We examined for differential patterns of outcome between China and non- China participants of the ENhanced Control of Hypertension And Thrombolysis strokE stuDy (ENCHANTED), which tested different alteplase doses in AIS. Methods ENCHANTED was an international, multicentre, open, blinded-endpoint trial of the effects of low-dose (0.6 mg/kg) versus standard-dose (0.9 mg/kg) intravenous alteplase on 90-day disability outcomes and symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage (sICH) in 3310 patients with AIS. Results Participants (n=1419, 48%) in China were younger, and more often male, hypertensive and with prior stroke and coronary artery disease, but less likely to have atrial fibrillation and use antihypertensive, antithrombotic and lipid-lowering agents, compared with non-China patients with AIS.