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Premorbid antiplatelet use and ischemic stroke outcomes

From the Stroke Center and Department of Neurology (N.S., J.L.S., V.R., S.L.S., D.K., T.R., B.O.), UCLA Medical Center; and Department of Neurology (N.S., J.L.S., V.R., S.L.S., D.K., B.O.), Olive View–UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Nerses Sanossian, Stroke Center and Department of Neurology, University of California at Los Angeles, 710 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095; e-mail: nsanossian{at}mednet.ucla.edu

Objective: To evaluate the independent effect of premorbid antiplatelet use on incident ischemic stroke severity and outcome at discharge.

Methods: The authors studied consecutive patients presenting within 24 hours of ischemic stroke over a 1-year period. National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score at presentation was used as index of stroke severity and a modified Rankin scale of 0 to1 at discharge as index of good functional outcome. Patients were categorized according to their premorbid antiplatelet use as antiplatelet-inclusive (AI) and no antiplatelet (NA). Demographic data, risk factors, pertinent laboratory tests, other medications, and stroke mechanisms were controlled for across the two groups using multivariate logistic regression.

Results: A total of 260 individuals met study criteria: 92 patients were on antiplatelet agents prior to admission, 168 were on no antiplatelets. Pretreatment with antiplatelet was associated with lower presenting median NIHSS (4.5 vs 7, p = 0.005). Antiplatelet use was associated with less severe stroke at presentation in those having no history of stroke or TIA (4.8 vs 8.0, p = 0.03) but not in those with a prior history of stroke or TIA (4.9 vs 4.9, p = 0.987). The likelihood of a good outcome was increased in those on antiplatelets after adjusting for other variables (OR 2.105, p = 0.0073).

Conclusions: Prestroke use of antiplatelet may be associated with reduced severity of incident ischemic strokes in those with no prior history of stroke or TIA, and with an increased likelihood of a good discharge outcome regardless of prior cerebrovascular event history.

This article was previously published in electronic format as an Expedited E-Pub on December 28, 2005, at www.neurology.org.

Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Received August 10, 2005. Accepted in final form October 24, 2005.

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