Effect of antiplatelet therapy on cardiovascular and kidney outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: The benefits and risks of antiplatelet therapy for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) remain controversial. We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the effects of antiplatelet therapy on major clinical outcomes. METHODS: We systematically searched MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Library for trials published before April 2019 without language restriction. We included rrandomized controlled trials that involved adults with CKD and compared antiplatelet agents with controls. RESULTS: Fifty eligible trials that included at least one event were identified, providing data for 27773patients with CKD, including 4518 major cardiovascular events and 1962 all-cause deaths. Antiplatelet therapy produced a 15% (OR, 0.85; 95% CI 0.74–0.94) reduction in the odds of major cardiovascular events (P = 0.002), a 48% reduction for access failure events (OR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.31–0.73), but had no significantly effect on all-cause death (OR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.71–1.01) or kidney failure events (OR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.32–1.55). Adverse events were significantly increased by antiplatelet therapy, including major (OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.11–1.59) or minor bleeding (OR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.27–2.05). Among every 1000 persons with CKD treated with antiplatelet therapy for 12 months, 23 major cardiovascular events will be prevented while nine major bleeding events will occur. CONCLUSIONS: Major prevention with antiplatelet agents (cardiovascular events and access failure), might outweigh the risk of bleeding, and there seemed to be an overall net benefit. Individual evaluation and careful monitoring are required. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12882-019-1499-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.