Prevention of vascular complications after cerebral ischaemia of arterial organ; the ESPRIT study: mild anticoagulant therapy, combination treatment with acetylsalicylic acid and dipyridamole, or treatment with acetylsalicylic acid alone?

The European and Australian Stroke Prevention in Reversible Ischaemia Trial (ESPRIT) is a randomised clinical trial in which patients with cerebral is chaemia of arterial origin will be randomised between oral anticoagulation (international normalized ratio (INR): 2.0-3.0), the combination of acetyls alicylic acid (in any dose between 30 and 325 mg per day) plus dipyridamole (400 mg daily) and acetylsalicylic acid only (in any dose between 30 and 3 25 mg per day). It is planned to enroll 4500 patients with a mean followup of three years. Primary outcome is the composite event of vascular death, s troke, myocardial infarction, or major bleeding complication; outcome asses sment will be blinded. ESPRIT is an international, multicentre study in whi ch 60-80 hospitals in the Netherlands and other countries in Europe and Aus tralia will participate.