Abstract
Aims: To assess the effectiveness of edaravone for acute stroke including ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).
Methods: We identified randomized controlled trials with comprehensive searches and performed systematic reviews according to the Cochrane methods of systematical reviews.
Results: Edaravone can reduce the rate of death or long-term disability significantly for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) (RR = 0.65; 95%CI, 0.48 to 0.89, p = 0.007). However, sensitivity analysis yielded a different result. Edaravone can also improve the short-term neurological impairment of AIS (MD = 7.09; 95%CI, 5.12 to 9.05, p < 0.00001), and ICH (MD = −4.32; 95%CI, −5.35 to −3.29, p < 0.00001).
Conclusions: Edaravone is beneficial in improving neurological impairment resulting from AIS and ICH. However, currently there is no enough convincing evidence that edaravone reduces death or long-term disability for AIS and ICH.
Declaration of interest
This research was partially supported by the Simcere Pharmaceutical Group. This group did not have any role in the design or conduct of the study or in the preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript. The authors declare no conflicts of interests. The authors alone are responsible for the conduct of the study and the writing of the manuscript.