Zhe Kang Law

Haemostatic drug therapies for acute spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage

BACKGROUNDnBecause spontaneous (non-traumatic) intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) volume influences its outcome and a third of ICHs enlarge by a third within 24 hours of onset, early haemostatic drug therapy might improve outcome. This is an update of a Cochrane review first published in 2006.nnnOBJECTIVESnTo examine the clinical effectiveness and safety of haemostatic drug therapies for acute ICH in a randomised controlled trial (RCT) design.nnnSEARCH STRATEGYnI searched the Cochrane Stroke Group Trials Register (last searched 26 June 2009), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library Issue 2, 2009), MEDLINE (1966 to June 2009) and EMBASE (1980 to June 2009). In an effort to identify further published, ongoing and unpublished studies I scanned bibliographies of relevant articles, searched international registers of clinical trials and research, and contacted authors and pharmaceutical companies.nnnSELECTION CRITERIAnI sought RCTs of any haemostatic drug therapy for acute ICH, compared against placebo or open control, with relevant clinical outcome measures.nnnDATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSISnTwo authors independently applied the inclusion criteria, reviewed the relevant studies, and extracted data.nnnMAIN RESULTSnI found five phase II RCTs and one phase III RCT, involving 1398 adults aged 18 years or over, within four hours of ICH onset: 423 participants received placebo and 975 participants received haemostatic drugs (two received epsilon-aminocaproic acid (EACA) and 973 received recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa)). Haemostatic drugs did not significantly reduce 90-day case fatality after ICH (risk ratio (RR) 0.85, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.58 to 1.25), and rFVIIa did not significantly reduce death or dependence on the modified Rankin Scale (grades 4 to 6) within 90 days of ICH (RR 0.91, 95% CI 0.72 to 1.15). There was a trend towards more participants on rFVIIa experiencing thromboembolic serious adverse events (RR 1.37, 95% CI 0.74 to 2.55)nnnAUTHORS CONCLUSIONSnHaemostatic drugs cannot be recommended for the treatment of acute spontaneous ICH in clinical practice, but a large RCT would be justified.

Intravenous tranexamic acid for hyperacute primary intracerebral hemorrhage: Protocol for a randomized, placebo-controlled trial:

Rationale Outcome after intracerebral hemorrhage remains poor. Tranexamic acid is easy to administer, readily available, inexpensive, and effective in other hemorrhagic conditions. Aim This randomized trial aims to test the hypothesis that intravenous tranexamic acid given within 8u2009h of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage reduces death or dependency. Design Phase III prospective double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial. Participants within 8u2009h of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage are randomized to receive either intravenous tranexamic acid 1u2009g 10u2009min bolus followed by 1u2009g 8u2009h infusion, or placebo. Sample size estimates A trial of 2000 participants (300 from start-up phase and 1700 from main phase) will have 90% power to detect an ordinal shift of the modified Rankin Scale with odds ratio 0.79. Study outcomes The primary outcome is death or dependency measured by ordinal shift analysis of the 7 level mRS at day 90. Secondary outcomes are neurological impairment at day 7 and disability, quality of life, cognition, and mood at day 90. Safety outcomes are death, serious adverse events, thromboembolic events, and seizures. Cost outcomes are length of stay in hospital, readmission, and institutionalization. Discussion This pragmatic trial is assessing efficacy of tranexamic acid after spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. Recruitment started in 2013; as of 15th January 2016 1355 participants have been enrolled, from 95 centers in seven countries. Recruitment is due to end in 2017. TICH-2 Trial is registered as ISRCTN93732214.

Tranexamic acid for hyperacute primary IntraCerebral Haemorrhage (TICH-2): an international randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 superiority trial

Summary Background Tranexamic acid can prevent death due to bleeding after trauma and post-partum haemorrhage. We aimed to assess whether tranexamic acid reduces haematoma expansion and improves outcome in adults with stroke due to intracerebral haemorrhage. Methods We did an international, randomised placebo-controlled trial in adults with intracerebral haemorrhage from acute stroke units at 124 hospital sites in 12 countries. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive 1 g intravenous tranexamic acid bolus followed by an 8 h infusion of 1 g tranexamic acid or a matching placebo, within 8 h of symptom onset. Randomisation was done centrally in real time via a secure website, with stratification by country and minimisation on key prognostic factors. Treatment allocation was concealed from patients, outcome assessors, and all other health-care workers involved in the trial. The primary outcome was functional status at day 90, measured by shift in the modified Rankin Scale, using ordinal logistic regression with adjustment for stratification and minimisation criteria. All analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. This trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN93732214. Findings We recruited 2325 participants between March 1, 2013, and Sept 30, 2017. 1161 patients received tranexamic acid and 1164 received placebo; the treatment groups were well balanced at baseline. The primary outcome was assessed for 2307 (99%) participants. The primary outcome, functional status at day 90, did not differ significantly between the groups (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0·88, 95% CI 0·76–1·03, p=0·11). Although there were fewer deaths by day 7 in the tranexamic acid group (101 [9%] deaths in the tranexamic acid group vs 123 [11%] deaths in the placebo group; aOR 0·73, 0·53–0·99, p=0·0406), there was no difference in case fatality at 90 days (250 [22%] vs 249 [21%]; adjusted hazard ratio 0·92, 95% CI 0·77–1·10, p=0·37). Fewer patients had serious adverse events after tranexamic acid than after placebo by days 2 (379 [33%] patients vs 417 [36%] patients), 7 (456 [39%] vs 497 [43%]), and 90 (521 [45%] vs 556 [48%]). Interpretation Functional status 90 days after intracerebral haemorrhage did not differ significantly between patients who received tranexamic acid and those who received placebo, despite a reduction in early deaths and serious adverse events. Larger randomised trials are needed to confirm or refute a clinically significant treatment effect. Funding National Institute of Health Research Health Technology Assessment Programme and Swiss Heart Foundation.

Treatment of intracerebral haemorrhage with tranexamic acid – A review of current evidence and ongoing trials:

Purpose Haematoma expansion is a devastating complication of intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) with no established treatment. Tranexamic acid had been an effective haemostatic agent in reducing post-operative and traumatic bleeding. We review current evidence examining the efficacy of tranexamic acid in improving clinical outcome after ICH. Method We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL and clinical trial registers for studies using search strategies incorporating the terms ‘intracerebral haemorrhage’, ‘tranexamic acid’ and ‘antifibrinolytic’. Authors of ongoing clinical trials were contacted for further details. Findings We screened 268 publications and retrieved 17 articles after screening. Unpublished information from three ongoing clinical trials was obtained. We found five completed studies. Of these, two randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing intravenous tranexamic acid to placebo (nu2009=u200954) reported no significant difference in death or dependency. Three observational studies (nu2009=u2009281) suggested less haematoma growth with rapid tranexamic acid infusion. There are six ongoing RCTs (nu2009=u20093089) with different clinical exclusions, imaging selection criteria (spot sign and haematoma volume), time window for recruitment and dosing of tranexamic acid. Discussion Despite their heterogeneity, the ongoing trials will provide key evidence on the effects of tranexamic acid on ICH. There are uncertainties of whether patients with negative spot sign, large haematoma, intraventricular haemorrhage, or poor Glasgow Coma Scale should be recruited. The time window for optimal effect of haemostatic therapy in ICH is yet to be established. Conclusion Tranexamic acid is a promising haemostatic agent for ICH. We await the results of the trials before definite conclusions can be drawn.

Management of acute intracerebral haemorrhage – an update

Managing acute intracerebral haemorrhage is a challenging task for physicians. Evidence shows that outcome can be improved with admission to an acute stroke unit and active care, including urgent reversal of anticoagulant effects and, potentially, intensive blood pressure reduction. Nevertheless, many management issues remain controversial, including the use of haemostatic therapy, selection of patients for neurosurgery and neurocritical care, the extent of investigations for underlying causes and the benefit versus risk of restarting antithrombotic therapy after an episode of intracerebral haemorrhage.

Does tranexamic acid lead to changes in MRI measures of brain tissue health in patients with spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage? Protocol for a MRI substudy nested within the double-blind randomised controlled TICH-2 trial

Objectives To test whether administration of the antifibrinolytic drug tranexamic acid (TXA) in patients with spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage (SICH) leads to increased prevalence of diffusion-weighted MRI-defined hyperintense ischaemic lesions (primary hypothesis) or reduced perihaematomal oedema volume, perihaematomal diffusion restriction and residual MRI-defined SICH-related tissue damage (secondary hypotheses). Design MRI substudy nested within the double-blind randomised controlled Tranexamic Acid for Hyperacute Primary Intracerebral Haemorrhage (TICH)-2 trial (ISRCTN93732214). Setting International multicentre hospital-based study. Participants Eligible adults consented and randomised in the TICH-2 trial who were also able to undergo MRI scanning. To address the primary hypothesis, a sample size of n=280u2009will allow detection of a 10% relative increase in prevalence of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) hyperintense lesions in the TXA group with 5% significance, 80% power and 5% imaging data rejection. Interventions TICH-2 MRI substudy participants will undergo MRI scanning using a standardised protocol at day ~5u2009and day ~90 after randomisation. Clinical assessments, randomisation to TXA or placebo and participant follow-up will be performed as per the TICH-2 trial protocol. Conclusion The TICH-2 MRI substudy will test whether TXA increases the incidence of new DWI-defined ischaemic lesions or reduces perihaematomal oedema or final ICH lesion volume in the context of SICH. Ethics and dissemination The TICH-2 trial obtained ethical approval from East Midlands - Nottingham 2 Research Ethics Committee (12/EM/0369) and an amendment to allow the TICH-2 MRI sub study was approved in April 2015 (amendment number SA02/15). All findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals. The primary outcome results will also be presented at a relevant scientific meeting. Trial registration number ISRCTN93732214; Pre-results.

Consolidation radiotherapy for advanced-stage aggressive B-cell non-hodgkin lymphoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Patients with advanced aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) are usually treated with rituximab in combination with chemotherapy. However, disease relapse rates are high. Radiotherapy (RT) has been shown to be efficacious in treating early-stage NHL but its role in advanced stage diseases is unclear. We performed a systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing chemotherapy with RT to chemotherapy alone in patients with newly diagnosed advanced aggressive NHL. We searched online databases and pooled similar outcome estimates. For time-to-event outcomes, we estimated hazard ratios (HR) for overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) using the fixed-effect model. Two RCTs involving 254 patients met inclusion criteria. The trials were single-centre RCTs with follow-up period of five and ten years. Both trials were conducted in the pre-rituximab era. Patients treated with consolidation RT had better OS (HR for mortality 0.61; 95 % CI 0.38 to 0.97) and EFS (HR for mortality 0.67; 95 % CI 0.46 to 0.98) compared to those who received no RT. There was an apparent benefit of RT on local control (OR 0.09; 95 % CI 0.04 to 0.20); although this was estimated as a dichotomous rather than time-to-event outcome. Limited evidence shows benefits of consolidation RT in advanced aggressive NHL. However, we were not able to estimate the effect size with confidence due to small number of trials and sample size. We cannot recommend routine consolidation RT in advanced aggressive NHL. More RCTs with the inclusion of rituximab and PET-CT monitoring are needed.

Radiotherapy for advanced-stage aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To assess the benefits (overall survival, progression-free survival, event-free survival and quality of life) and harms (toxicities) of radiotherapy for people with advanced aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).