Vitamin K antagonists do not increase symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage in ischemic stroke patients

A new study published in the Journal of American Medical Association shows that the use of vitamin K antagonist (VKA) within the previous seven days was not substantially linked to an elevated risk of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) overall among individuals with acute ischemic stroke who were chosen to receive endovascular thrombectomy (EVT).

The use of oral vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) may increase the risk of problems for patients having endovascular thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke brought on by major artery blockage. In order to ascertain the relationship between recent usage of a VKA and results among patients chosen to undergo EVT in clinical practice, Brian Mac Grory and colleagues undertook this study.

Between October 2015 and March 2020, a retrospective, observational cohort research was conducted based on the American Heart Association's Get With the Guidelines-Stroke Program. 32 715 individuals with acute ischemic stroke who were chosen to have EVT within six hours of the time they were last known to be healthy were included from the 594 participating institutions in the US. The major criterion for this investigation was VKA usage during the seven days previous to admission to the hospital. Intracranial haemorrhage symptoms were the main end goal. Secondary endpoints were in-hospital mortality, in-hospital mortality or discharge to hospice, life-threatening systemic haemorrhage, another significant complication, any complications of reperfusion treatment, and in-hospital death.