• Marvin Darkwah Oppong, Oliver Gembruch, Daniela Pierscianek, Martin Köhrmann, Christoph Kleinschnitz, Cornelius Deuschl, Christoph Mönninghoff, Klaus Kaier, Michael Forsting, Ulrich Sure, and Ramazan Jabbarli.
• Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.
• Neurosurgery. 2019 Dec 1; 85 (6): 827-833.

BackgroundDelayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) has a strong impact on outcome of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Positive effect of antiplatelet therapy on DCI rates has been supposed upon smaller SAH series.ObjectiveTo analyze the benefit/risk profile of antiplatelet use in SAH patients.MethodsThis retrospective case-control study was based on institutional observational cohort with 994 SAH patients treated between January 2003 and June 2016. The individuals with postcoiling antiplatelet therapy (aspirin with/without clopidogrel) were compared to a control group without antiplatelet therapy. Occurrence of DCI, major/minor bleeding events in the follow-up computed tomography scans, and favorable outcome at 6 mo after SAH (modified Rankin scale < 3) were compared in both groups.ResultsOf 580 patients in the final analysis, 329 patients received post-treatment antiplatelet medication. There were no significant differences between the compared groups with regard to basic outcome confounders. Aspirin use was independently associated with reduced DCI risk (P < .001, adjusted odds ratio = 0.41, 95% confidence interval 0.24-0.65) and favorable outcome (P = .02, adjusted odds ratio = 1.78, 95% confidence interval 1.06-2.98). Regarding bleeding complications, aspirin was associated only with minor bleeding events (P = .02 vs P = .51 for major bleeding events).ConclusionRegular administration of aspirin might have a positive impact on DCI risk and outcome of SAH patients, without increasing the risk for clinically relevant bleeding events. In our SAH cohort, dual antiplatelet therapy showed no additional benefit on DCI risk, but increased the likelihood of major bleeding events.Copyright © 2018 by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

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