Drug-induced ischemic stroke

Stroke is an acute disturbance of the blood supply to the brain, characterized by the sudden onset of focal neurological symptoms, which persists for more than 24 hours or leads to the death of the patient in a shorter period of time due to cerebrovascular pathology. In the world and in Russia, stroke remains one of the leading causes of death and disability. At the same time, ischemic stroke (IS) is more common – about 80% of cases. Many classes of drugs, such as oral contraceptives, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and various psychoactive substances, can contribute to the development of drug-induced IS (DI IS). Data upon the frequency of DI IS is limited. In part, this reflects the problem of identifying and confirming the causal relationship between drug prescription and the development of IS. DI IS risk factors include: abuse of caffeine and alcohol, older age, smoking, drug addiction, high doses of drugs containing provoking agents, the simultaneous use of several drugs, the presence of comorbid diseases. Adverse drug reactions develop due to the following pathophysiological mechanisms: cerebral embolism, vasoconstriction of cerebral arteries, vasculitis of the central nervous system, orthostatic hypotension. The management of a patient with a DI IS does not differ significantly from the management of a patient with IS of a different etiology and includes thrombolysis or mechanical thromboextraction (in the absence of contraindications), as well as rational methods of secondary prevention. It is necessary to completely cancel or reduce the dose of the drug, the use of which led to the development of a stroke. DI IS prevention measures include the choice of drugs with the lowest risk of its occurrence and the use of modern scales for assessing the risk of this phenomenon.