Medical Tribune October 2008 P3 Stroke risk is raised by all antipsychotic drugs and not just atypical types as previously thought, according to UK researchers.
Electronic primary care records were used to identify 6,790 patients with a history of stroke and taking antipsychotic medications. Compared to non-medicated periods, the rate ratio for stroke when taking any antipsychotic drug was 1.73 (95% CI 1.60 – 1.87). For typical antipsychotics alone the ratio was 1.69 (95% CI 1.55 – 1.84), whereas for atypical drugs alone this figure was 2.32 (1.73 – 3.10).
Patients with dementia who took any antipsychotic were at markedly increased risk for stroke (rate ratio 3.50; 95% CI 2.97 – 4.12), and the authors advise that these drugs be avoided where possible in these patients. [BMJ 2008 337:a1227]
No comments:
Post a Comment