Angioplasty in asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis vs.endarterectomy compared to best medical treatment: One-year interim results ofSPACE-2

摘要

Treatment of individuals with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis is stillhandled controversially. Recommendations for treatment of asymptomaticcarotid stenosis with carotid endarterectomy (CEA) are based on trialshaving recruited patients more than 15 years ago. Registry data indicatethat advances in best medical treatment (BMT) may lead to a markedlydecreasing risk of stroke in asymptomatic carotid stenosis. The aim of theSPACE-2 trial (ISRCTN78592017) was to compare the stroke preventive effectsof BMT alone with that of BMT in combination with CEA or carotid arterystenting (CAS), respectively, in patients with asymptomatic carotid arterystenosis of ≥70% European Carotid Surgery Trial (ECST) criteria.