PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Viswanathan, A.
AU  - Rakich, S. M.
AU  - Engel, C.
AU  - Snider, R.
AU  - Rosand, J.
AU  - Greenberg, S. M.
AU  - Smith, E. E.
TI  - Antiplatelet use after intracerebral hemorrhage
AID  - 10.1212/01.wnl.0000194267.09060.77
DP  - 2006 Jan 24
TA  - Neurology
PG  - 206--209
VI  - 66
IP  - 2
4099  - http://n.neurology.org/content/66/2/206.short
4100  - http://n.neurology.org/content/66/2/206.full
SO  - Neurology2006 Jan 24; 66
AB  - Background: Survivors of intracerebral hemorrhage are at risk for recurrent intracerebral hemorrhage and ischemic cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. Objective: To determine whether antiplatelet therapy increases the risk of recurrent intracerebral hemorrhage. Methods: The authors reviewed data from consecutive survivors of primary intracerebral hemorrhage enrolled in a single-center prospective cohort study. Survivors were followed by telephone interview; recurrent intracerebral hemorrhage and post–index antiplatelet agent use and duration were recorded. Cox proportional hazards models was used with antiplatelet agent exposure as a time-dependent variable to assess the effect of antiplatelet agent use on recurrent intracerebral hemorrhage, stratified by lobar and deep hemispheric location. Results: Recurrent intracerebral hemorrhage was more common in survivors of lobar hemorrhage compared with survivors of deep hemorrhage (cumulative 2-year rate 22% vs 4%; p = 0.007). Antiplatelet agents were prescribed in 22% of intracerebral hemorrhage survivors (27/127 lobar, 19/80 deep hemispheric), most commonly for prevention of ischemic heart disease. Antiplatelet agent use was not associated with intracerebral hemorrhage recurrence in survivors of either lobar hemorrhage (hazard ratio [HR] 0.8, 95% CI 0.3 to 2.3, p = 0.73) or of deep hemorrhage (HR 1.2, 95% CI 0.1 to 14.3, p = 0.88). Conclusion: Antiplatelet agent use is relatively common following intracerebral hemorrhage but did not appear to be associated with a large increased risk of intracerebral hemorrhage recurrence in this observational study.