Intravenous heparin started within the first 3 hours after onset of symptoms as a treatment for acute nonlacunar hemispheric cerebral infarctions

• Published in: Stroke (1970) 2005-11, Vol.36 (11), p.2415-2420
• Main Authors: CAMERLINGO, Massimo, SALVI, Pietro, BELLONI, Giorgio, GAMBA, Tiziano, CESANA, Bruno Mario, MAMOLI, Angelo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anticoagulants - pharmacology; Atrial Fibrillation - pathology; Biological and medical sciences; Blood. Blood coagulation. Reticuloendothelial system; Brain - pathology; Cardiovascular system; Cerebral Infarction - drug therapy; Cerebral Infarction - pathology; Female; Fibrinolytic Agents - administration & dosage; Fibrinolytic Agents - therapeutic use; Heparin - administration & dosage; Heparin - therapeutic use; Humans; Infusions, Intravenous; Intracranial Hemorrhages - drug therapy; Intracranial Hemorrhages - pathology; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Neurology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Single-Blind Method; Stroke - pathology; Time Factors; Treatment Outcome; Vascular diseases and vascular malformations of the nervous system; Vasodilator agents. Cerebral vasodilators
• ISSN: 0039-2499; 1524-4628
• DOI: 10.1161/01.STR.0000185730.50480.e7

Heparin is widely used for acute stroke to prevent thrombus propagation and/or multiple emboli generation, although there is, as yet, no demonstrated efficacy. However, all of the available clinical studies allowed long intervals from stroke to treatment. The purpose of this study was to try an intravenous regimen of unfractionated heparin the acute cerebral infarction starting treatment within the first 3 hours of the onset of symptoms. The study was an outcome evaluator-blind design trial. Patients had to display signs of a nonlacunar hemispheric infarction. Selected patients were randomly allocated to receive intravenous heparin sodium or saline. Heparin was infused at a rate to maintain activated partial thromboplastin time ratio 2.0 to 2.5 x control for 5 days. The primary end point was recovery of a modified Rankin score zero to 2 at 90 days of stroke at phone interview by a single physician blind to treatment. Safety end points were death, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhages, and major extracranial bleedings by 90 days of stroke. A total of 418 stroke patients were included. In the heparin group, there were more self-independent patients (38.9% versus 28.6%; P=0.025). In addition, in the same group, there were fewer deaths (16.8% versus 21.9%; P=0.189), more symptomatic brain hemorrhages (6.2% versus 1.4%; P=0.008), and more major extracerebral bleedings (2.9% versus 1.4%; P=0.491). Intravenous heparin sodium could be of help in the earliest treatment of acute nonlacunar hemispheric cerebral infarction, even keeping into account an increased frequency of intracranial symptomatic brain hemorrhages.