Early postoperative acetylsalicylic acid administration does not increase the risk of postoperative intracranial bleeding in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage.
Prashant K AruwaniNajeebullah ArbaniSameer Abdul RaufPublished in: Neurosurgical review (2024)
The recent study by Kaiwen Wang et al., titled "Early postoperative acetylsalicylic acid administration does not increase the risk of postoperative intracranial bleeding in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage," explores the association between postoperative intracranial bleeding (PIB) and various risk factors, including smoking, pre-hemorrhagic antiplatelet therapy, and dyslipidemia. While the study highlights that smoker, particularly women, are at increased risk for subarachnoid hemorrhage and acknowledges the risks of pre-hemorrhagic antiplatelet use, it overlooks the potential risk of PIB associated with early postoperative aspirin administration. This critique underscores the need to approach the study's findings with caution, given the broader context of aspirin's risk profile. Specifically, aspirin has been associated with a 37% higher relative risk of any intracranial hemorrhage, as indicated by other randomized trials. Additionally, the study's implications regarding the benefits of aspirin in stroke prevention must be critically evaluated, as the increased risk of intracranial bleeding may outweigh the potential benefits. This abstract emphasizes the importance of careful consideration of aspirin's adverse effects in the context of postoperative care.