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. 2023 Jan 26;2023(1):CD012144. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012144.pub3

NCT03907046.

Study name Anticoagulation in ICH Survivors for Stroke Prevention and Recovery (ASPIRE)
Methods Design: randomised controlled parallel group quadruple blind trial
Setting: multicentre at NIH/NINDS StrokeNet sites in the USA
Dates: January 2020‐April 2024
Participants Inclusion criteria
  • Age at least 18 years

  • ICH (including spontaneous intraventricular haemorrhage) confirmed by brain CT or MRI

  • Can be randomised within 14‐120 days after ICH onset

  • Non‐valvular AF (defined as atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter), documented by electrocardiography or a physician‐confirmed history of prior AF

  • CHA2DS2‐VASc score ≥ 2

  • Provision of signed and dated informed consent form by patient or legally authorised representative

  • Able to comply with all study procedures and available for duration of the study

  • For females of reproductive potential: use of highly effective contraception


Exclusion criteria
  • History of ICH before index event

  • Active infective endocarditis

  • Lobar ICH with cerebral amyloid angiopathy

  • Clear indication for anticoagulant drugs (e.g. requires anticoagulation for deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism) or antiplatelet drugs (e.g. requires aspirin or clopidogrel for recent myocardial infarction)

  • Previous or planned LAAO

  • Clinically significant bleeding diathesis

  • Serum creatinine ≥ 2.5 mg/dL

  • Active hepatitis or hepatic insufficiency with Child‐Pugh score B or C

  • Anaemia (haemoglobin < 8 g/dL) or thrombocytopaenia (< 100 x 109/L) that is chronic in the judgment of the investigator

  • Life expectancy < 1 year

  • Pregnant or breastfeeding

  • Known allergy to aspirin or apixaban

  • Concomitant participation in a competing therapeutic trial

  • Considered by the investigator to have a condition that precludes safe participation in the trial

  • Unwilling to discontinue prohibited medications

Interventions Intervention: apixaban 5mg twice daily, or 2.5mg twice daily in the setting of ≥ 2 of the following: age ≥ 80 years, body weight ≤6 0 kg, or serum creatinine 1.5‐2.4 mg/dL, or patient is taking a strong CYP3A4/pGP inhibitor (e.g. ketoconazole, itraconazole, ritonavir, or clarithromycin)
Comparator: aspirin 81mg once daily
Outcomes Primary outcome
  • Stroke of any type (ischaemic or haemorrhagic) or death from any cause


Secondary outcome
  • mRS score at 12 months


Duration: 12‐36 months.
Starting date 28 January 2020
Contact information Kevin N Sheth (kevin.sheth@yale.edu), Hooman Kamel (hok9010@med.cornell.edu)
Notes Declarations of interest: not specified in trials register
Sources of funding: not specified in trials register