Salts of Clopidogrel: Investigation to Ensure Clinical Equivalence: A 12-Month Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: In the present clinical trial, we compared the efficacy and safety of the generic clopidogrel besylate (CB) with the innovator clopidogrel hydrogen sulfate (CHS) salt in patients eligible to receive clopidogrel.

Methods: A prospective 2-arm, multicenter, open-label, phase 4 clinical trial. Consecutive patients (n = 1864) were screened and 1800 were enrolled in the trial and randomized to CHS or CB.

Generic Clopidogrel Besylate in the Secondary Prevention of Atherothrombotic Events: A 6-month Follow-up of a Randomised Clinical Trial.

Background: The aim of the present interim analysis was to compare the clinical efficacy and safety of the generic clopidogrel besylate (CB) with the innovator clopidogrel hydrogen sulphate (CHS) salt in patient groups eligible to receive clopidogrel.

Methods: A 2-arm, multicenter, open-label, phase 4 clinical trial. Consecutive patients (n=1,864) were screened and 1,800 were enrolled in the trial and randomized to CHS (n=759) or CB (n=798).

Markers of hepatitis viruses and human T-lymphotropic virus types I/II in patients who have undergone open-heart surgery: evidence of increased risk for exposure to HBV and HEV.

Background: Open-heart procedure is characterized by a high-risk for contracting blood-borne infections. We evaluated the prevalence of several markers of hepatitis viruses (B-E) and human T-cell lymphotropic virus types I/II (HTLV-I/II) in a consecutive series of patients who had undergone open-heart surgery.

Methods: 204 patients and 158 selected age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers were investigated.

Histologic comparison of vibrating guidewire with conventional guidewire technique in an experimental coronary in vivo model.

Purpose: To compare the damage caused by vibrating guidewire manipulation and conventional guidewire manipulation of soft coronary wires in normal sheep coronary arteries.

Methods: Using an intact sheep model the two methods of passing a coronary guidewire down a normal coronary artery under fluoroscopic screening control were studied. The resulting arterial damage caused by the two techniques was studied histologically.

An epidemiological study of symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in northwest Greece.

Aim: Although atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most commonly sustained arrhythmia, information about its incidence in the general population is sparse. Even more sparse is information on an important variety of AF, paroxysmal AF. The aim of this study is to assess the frequency of new cases of symptomatic paroxysmal AF per year ('incidence') in a general unselected population and to compare other epidemiological features with chronic AF patients.