Clopidogrel Increases the Risk for Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Clopidogrel is widely used to prevent vascular thrombotic events. However, the risk for upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) or lower bleeding (LGIB) may be increased by antithrombotic agents. To identify the frequency of and risk factors for gastrointestinal bleeding in clopidogrel users, investigators analyzed data from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan.

Researchers identified 3238 patients who took >150 doses (75 mg each) of clopidogrel during the 6 months prior to study enrollment. For each clopidogrel user, investigators identified four control patients matched by age, gender, and time of enrollment from a randomly sampled cohort of 1 million patients (total control patients, 12,952). Records were reviewed for …