Risk factors for antiplatelet drug-associated intracranial hemorrhage: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Antiplatelet drug-associated intracranial hemorrhage has a high mortality rate, and many factors can cause antiplatelet drug-associated intracranial hemorrhage. Until now, systematic reviews and assessments of the certainty of the evidence have not been published. Aim We conducted a systematic review to identify risk factors of antiplatelet drug-associated intracranial hemorrhage. Method The protocol for this systematic review was prospectively registered with PROSPERO (CRD42022311647). All studies written in English that met the inclusion criteria published before January 2022 were obtained from PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. Two researchers independently screened articles, extracted data, and evaluated the quality and evidence of the included studies. Risk factors for antiplatelet drug-associated intracranial hemorrhage were used as the outcome index of this review. Random or fixed-effect models were used in statistical methods. I-2 statistics were used to evaluate heterogeneity. Results Of 2844 citations, we included 6 studies in our analysis. For intracranial hemorrhage, moderate-certainty evidence showed a probable association with race, low BMI, GCS, severe bleeding, headache or vomiting, cerebrovascular disease, lacunar small vessel disease, cardiovascular disease, blood sugar, blood pressure, CT-defined white matter hypodensity, antihypertensive drugs, and antiplatelet therapy. In addition, we found low-certainty evidence that there may be little to no association between risk of intracranial hemorrhage and age, sex, and dual antithrombotic treatment or anticoagulant. CT-defined white matter hypodensity is not included in most intracranial hemorrhage risk assessment models. Conclusion This study summarizes risk factors for antiplatelet drug-associated intracranial hemorrhage, which is significant in preventing intracranial hemorrhage.