Coated-Platelets Improve Prediction of Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack in Asymptomatic Internal Carotid Artery Stenosis

Abstract

Background and Purpose— Coated-platelets, a subset of procoagulant platelets observed on dual agonist stimulation with collagen and thrombin, support a robust prothrombinase activity and provide a unique measure of platelet thrombotic potential. Coated-platelet levels are increased in large artery stroke, and higher levels are associated with early stroke recurrence, suggesting a potential role for risk stratification in asymptomatic patients with carotid artery stenosis. Methods— Three-hundred twenty-nine consecutive patients with technically adequate carotid Doppler evaluation without stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) in the previous 6 months were enrolled as part of a prospective cohort study conducted during a 40-month period. The main outcome was occurrence of stroke or TIA according to coated-platelet levels and internal carotid stenosis severity at enrollment. The optimal cutoff value of coated-platelet levels was determined by recursive partitioning analysis. Event-free survival was estimated using Kaplan–Meier and Cox proportional hazards regression analyses. Results— A cutoff of ≥45% for coated-platelet levels in combination with stenosis ≥50% yielded a sensitivity of 0.78 (95% confidence interval, 0.51–1.0), specificity of 0.92 (0.89–0.95), positive predictive value of 0.21 (0.07–0.34), and a negative predictive value of 0.99 (0.98–1.0) for ipsilateral stroke or TIA. The incidence rate of ipsilateral stroke or TIA for patients with ≥50% stenosis and ≥45% coated-platelets was 21.5 per 100 person-years versus 1.27 per 100 person-years for patients with ≥50% stenosis and <45% coated-platelets ( P <0.0001). Conclusions— Coated-platelet levels identify asymptomatic carotid stenosis patients at high risk for stroke or TIA, which suggests a role for coated-platelets in risk stratification before revascularization.