Lancet
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Endarterectomy for moderate symptomatic carotid stenosis: interim results from the MRC European Carotid Surgery Trial.
The objective of this study was to assess whether carotid endarterectomy is an appropriate treatment for patients with recent cerebrovascular events in the territory supplied by a moderately stenosed (30-69%) internal carotid artery. Results have previously been reported for severe (70-99%) and mild (0-29%) stenosis. ⋯ Previous interim results from this study showed that surgery is beneficial in patients with severe stenosis but harmful in those with mild stenosis. With more randomised patients and longer follow-up, the study now shows that endarterectomy is not indicated for most, possibly all, patients with moderate symptomatic carotid stenosis.