Citation

Levine M, Wyler B, LoVecchio F, Roque P, Raja AS. Am. J. Emerg. Med. 2014; 32(1): 71-74.

Affiliation

Department of Emergency Medicine, Section of Medical Toxicology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Electronic address: mdlevine@usc.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.ajem.2013.08.063

PMID

24119451

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Clopidogrel is an adenosine diphosphate receptor antagonist. The risk of intracranial hemorrhage following minor head trauma in patients with pre-injury use of clopidogrel has not been fully determined. METHODS: This case-controlled study examined the effects of pre-injury use of clopidogrel in adult (age 14 years and older) patients with minor head trauma. RESULTS: During the study period, 1660 patients head computed tomography scans were performed in the emergency department, of which 658 met inclusion criteria. Intracranial hemorrhage was noted in 30% of patients on clopidogrel, compared with 2.2% of those patients without pre-injury use of clopidogrel. After performing a logistic regression analysis for confounders, the pre-injury use of clopidogrel was significantly associated with intracranial hemorrhage in this study population (OR 16.7; 95% CI 1.71-162.7). CONCLUSION: The use of clopidogrel is associated with a significantly increased risk of developing intracranial hemorrhage following minor trauma.

Language: en