No increase in stroke risk with non-aspirin NSAIDs
Key points
- Taking non-aspirin anti-inflammatory painkillers, or NSAIDs, does not appear to increase the risk of bleeding stroke (also called hemorrhagic stroke), according to a study by Korean investigators.
- Previous studies have shown no association between the use of non-aspirin NSAIDs and hemorrhagic stroke, the researchers explain, but they did not include over-the-counter drugs and selective COX-2 inhibitors.
- Byung-Woo Yoon from Seoul National University College of Medicine and colleagues evaluated the association of non-aspirin NSAIDs and hemorrhagic stroke risk using data from 940 hemorrhagic stroke cases and 940 controls.
- They report in the current issue of the journal Stroke, that exposure to non-aspirin NSAIDs within 14 days before a stroke was 2.9 percent in the hemorrhagic stroke cases and 2.0 percent among controls.
Taking non-aspirin anti-inflammatory painkillers, or NSAIDs, does not appear to increase the risk of bleeding stroke (also called hemorrhagic stroke), according to a study by Korean investigators.
Previous studies have shown no association between the use of non-aspirin NSAIDs and hemorrhagic stroke, the researchers explain, but they did not include over-the-counter drugs and selective COX-2 inhibitors.
Dr. Byung-Woo Yoon from Seoul National University College of Medicine and colleagues evaluated the association of non-aspirin NSAIDs and hemorrhagic stroke risk using data from 940 hemorrhagic stroke cases and 940 controls.
They report in the current issue of the journal Stroke, that exposure to non-aspirin NSAIDs within 14 days before a stroke was 2.9 percent in the hemorrhagic stroke cases and 2.0 percent among controls.
After adjustment for potentially confounding factors, there was no significant association between the use of non-aspirin NSAIDs overall, nonselective non-aspirin NSAIDs, or selective non-aspirin NSAIDs and hemorrhagic stroke.
"The absence of an association was evident in all separate analyses with different exposure times and different classes of non-aspirin NSAIDs," Yoon and colleagues say.
"This study supports the findings of previous epidemiological studies, suggesting that use of non-aspirin NSAIDs is not associated with an increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke," they conclude.
SOURCE: Stroke, March 2008.
Written and revised by
Gerald Hurowitz, M.D.
Our doctors write and review articles for accuracy and keep them up to date.
health.am provides general information, not medical advice. Always consult a qualified health professional about your own health.
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