The efficacy and safety of tirofiban for patients with acute ischemic stroke: A protocol for systematic review and a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: The clinical use of tirofiban remains controversial for patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS), we aimed to conduct a meta- analysis of cohort studies to assess the efficacy and safety of tirofiban for AIS patients. METHODS: All apparently unconfounded randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and case-controlled studies, with or without blinding, of tirofiban in individuals with AIS will be included in this review. We will conduct a literature search in 2 databases Pubmed and Embase, using indexing terms related to cerebral infarctions and tirofiban to include articles indexed as of Jan 31, 2019 in the English language only. Two reviewers will independently select trials for inclusion and assess trial quality. Two pairs of review authors will independently extract information for each included trials. Primary outcomes are any intracerebral hemorrhage (aICH), symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH), fatal ICH, recanalization rate and long-term outcome. The risk of bias of the included studies will be evaluated based on Cochrane assessment tool. Revman 5.3 will be used for heterogeneity assessment, generating funnel-plots, data synthesis, subgroup analysis, and sensitivity analysis. RESULT: We will provide practical and targeted results assessing the efficacy and safety of tirofiban for AIS patients, to provide reference for clinical use of tirofiban. CONCLUSION: The stronger evidence about the efficacy and safety of tirofiban for AIS patients will be provided for clinicians.