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Stroke and transient ischaemic attack - Management
What are the adverse effects of clopidogrel?
- Bleeding is the most common reaction (reported in post-marketing experience) and was mostly reported during the first month of treatment:
- There have been some reported cases with fatal outcome (especially intracranial, gastrointestinal, and retroperitoneal haemorrhage).
- Serious cases of skin bleeding (purpura), musculoskeletal bleeding (haemarthrosis, haematoma), eye bleeding (conjunctival, ocular, retinal), epistaxis, respiratory tract bleeding (haemoptysis, pulmonary haemorrhage), haematuria, and haemorrhage of operative wounds have also been reported.
- Cases of serious haemorrhage have been reported in people taking clopidogrel concomitantly with aspirin or clopidogrel with aspirin and heparin.
- Common adverse effects listed by the manufacturer of clopidogrel are diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and dyspepsia.
- Clopidogrel is known to cause pruritus and urticaria, but these adverse reactions are generally uncommon.
[Aronson, 2006a; ABPI Medicines Compendium, 2007a]
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