Published on 03/25/2022 at 7:28 p.m.,
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Researchers from Inserm and Bordeaux University Hospital have just published a study showing an increased risk of having a stroke following the taking of anti-emetic drugs (anti-emetics). However, they remain cautious about the cause and effect link and believe that it is nevertheless necessary to better assess the risks associated with taking these comfort medications.
There are many anti-emetic drugs available on the market and they are widely used, amounting to five million prescriptions per year. Researchers from the Bordeaux University Hospital and Inserm wanted to know if taking them increased the risk of having an ischemic stroke (caused by the occlusion of a cerebral artery by a blood clot or other). They publish the conclusions of their work in the British medical journal (BMJ), this March 24.
Study data from over 2600 adults
To arrive at these results, the scientists used data from 2,612 adults hospitalized for an ischemic stroke between 2012 and 2016. All of them had taken anti-vomiting medication in the 70 days preceding their stroke. The objective here was therefore to see if taking this medication was related to the stroke that occurred a few days or weeks later.
An increased risk within fifteen days
“A stronger use in the period immediately preceding the accident is in favor of a role played by the drug in the attack” explains the press release from Inserm. For researchers, the risk of stroke “would be multiplied by three if the anti-emetic drug was taken less than a fortnight ago”.
The results of this study therefore suggest an increased risk of ischemic stroke in the first days of use of antiemetic antidopaminergic drugs. This increased risk was found for the three antiemetics studied: domperidone, metoclopramide and metopimazine, and the risk appeared higher in the first days of use.
Larger study for comparison
Cautious, the scientists wanted to see if their results did not know a bias that could occur if the use of the drug varied greatly over time in the general population, due for example, to an epidemic of acute gastroenteritis. The Bordeaux researchers therefore considered over the same period a group of 21,859 people, chosen at random and who had not had a stroke. “In these people, no peak or excess of use of antiemetics comparable to that highlighted in patients who presented a CVA was found. state their results.
Learn about medications and their side effects
No explanation of the conclusions of this study has yet been advanced by the authors. “This first study provides a strong signal, relating to drugs widely used in the general population. For the time being, it seems very important that these results can be replicated in other studies, studies which could also provide indications on the frequency of this adverse effect, which we could not measure here given the approach methodology adopted. Having precise information on the subtypes of ischemic strokes and their location would also make it possible to explore the mechanisms involved. indicates Anne Bénard-Laribière, one of the authors of the study.