Prescrire international
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Prescrire international · Jun 2002
Comparative StudyTenecteplase: new preparation. Another thrombolytic agent for myocardial infarction: a slightly simpler treatment.
(1) Alteplase is the standard thrombolytic agent for treating patients under 75 years with myocardial infarction if they are seen within 6 hours. It is given as an intravenous infusion over 90 minutes in combination with aspirin and unfractionated or low-molecular-weight heparin. (2) Tenecteplase has been authorized for use in myocardial infarction as an intravenous bolus over 5 to 10 seconds. (3) The evaluation file on tenecteplase contains data from three dose-finding studies and one double-blind trial against alteplase in nearly 17 000 patients. ⋯ The combination of tenecteplase and enoxaparin makes treatment simpler, which could be particularly useful prior to hospital admission. A smaller trial of alteplase + enoxaparin against alteplase + unfractionated heparin gave similar findings. (6) In practice, tenecteplase has the advantage of a more convenient administration; a very large trial strongly suggests that its effects are almost identical to those of alteplase.