Evidence Based Medicine: What is the best antiplatelet agent for prevention of recurrent stroke in Pakistani Patients? Do combinations offer significant advantages in the South Asian Context?

European Stroke Prevention Study ESPS 2, Clopidogrel vs Aspirin for Prevention of Recurrent Ischemic Events-CAPRIE AND Management of ATherothrombosis with Clopidogrel in High-risk patients-MATCH. Why are these studies of clinical importance? Before these trials it was already known that antiplatelets like aspirin and ticlopidine reduce the incidence of a composite outcome of ischaemic stroke, MI or vascular death. However, both these drugs have serious potential side effects, like GI bleeding, bone marrow suppression, rash and diarrhoea.