Prophylactic use of paracetamol should be discouraged in patients in the acute phase of ischaemic stroke who do not experience stroke-associated pain or fever, according to a new retrospective study. The findings—based on data from 6,015 patients with ischaemic stroke, 2,435 of whom had received paracetamol—show that paracetamol treatment within 3 days of stroke was associated with poor functional outcome at 90 days in patients without fever or pain. However, paracetamol use had no effect on stroke outcome in individuals who did experienced pain and/or fever.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER
Frank, B. et al. Use of paracetamol in ischaemic stroke patients: evidence from VISTA. Acta Neurol. Scand. doi:10.1111/ane.12094
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Questions raised over safety of prophylactic paracetamol use in acute phase of ischaemic stroke. Nat Rev Neurol 9, 184 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2013.50
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2013.50