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Comparative effect of clopidogrel plus aspirin and aspirin monotherapy on hematological parameters using propensity score matching

Authors Hayasaka M, Takahashi Y, Nishida Y, Yoshida Y, Hidaka S, Asai S

Received 18 October 2012

Accepted for publication 10 December 2012

Published 18 February 2013 Volume 2013:9 Pages 65—70

DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/VHRM.S39351

Checked for plagiarism Yes

Review by Single anonymous peer review

Peer reviewer comments 3



Masatoshi Hayasaka,1 Yasuo Takahashi,2 Yayoi Nishida,2 Yoshikazu Yoshida,1 Shinji Hidaka,3 Satoshi Asai4

1Department of Pharmacy, Nihon University Itabashi Hospital, Tokyo, 2Division of Genomic Epidemiology and Clinical Trials, Clinical Trials Research Center, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo, 3Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Regulatory Science, Department of Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Nihon University, Chiba, 4Division of Pharmacology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

Background: Clopidogrel and aspirin are antiplatelet agents that are recommended to reduce the risk of recurrent stroke and other cardiovascular events. Dual antiplatelet therapy with clopidogrel and aspirin has been shown to increase the risk of hemorrhage, but the effects of the drugs on laboratory parameters have not been well studied in real-world clinical settings. Therefore, we evaluated and compared the effects of combination therapy with clopidogrel plus aspirin and aspirin monotherapy on laboratory parameters.
Methods: We used data from the Nihon University School of Medicine Clinical Data Warehouse obtained between November 2004 and May 2011 to identify cohorts of new users (n = 130) of clopidogrel (75 mg/day) plus aspirin (100 mg/day) and a propensity score matched sample of new users (n = 130) of aspirin alone (100 mg/day). We used a multivariate regression model to compare serum levels of creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase, as well as hematological parameters including hemoglobin level, hematocrit, and white blood cell, red blood cell, and platelet counts up to 2 months after the start of administration of the study drugs.
Results: There were no significant differences for any characteristics and baseline laboratory parameters between users of clopidogrel plus aspirin and users of aspirin alone. Reductions in white blood cell and red blood cell counts, hemoglobin levels, and hematocrit in users of clopidogrel plus aspirin were significantly greater than those in users of aspirin alone.
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that adverse hematological effects may be greater with combination clopidogrel plus aspirin therapy than with aspirin monotherapy.

Keywords: clopidogrel, aspirin, laboratory parameter, antiplatelet therapy, propensity score matching

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