The Mystery of Clopidogrel-Associated Inflammatory Arthritis

Clopidogrel is an antiplatelet medication that plays an important role in the management and prevention of thrombotic vascular events in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and ischemic stroke. We report a case of a male patient who received a maintenance dose of clopidogrel as part of strok...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) CA), 2023-12, Vol.15 (12), p.e50564
Main Authors: Javed, Faiza, Champaneria, Shivam U
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acute coronary syndromes
Angina pectoris
Antibodies
Arthritis
Aspirin
Case reports
Crystals
Disease
Fever
Hands
Ischemia
Kinases
Knee
Laboratories
Lupus
Pain
Patients
Shoulder
Stroke
Uric acid
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Summary:Clopidogrel is an antiplatelet medication that plays an important role in the management and prevention of thrombotic vascular events in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and ischemic stroke. We report a case of a male patient who received a maintenance dose of clopidogrel as part of stroke treatment and developed inflammatory arthritis after five days of starting the medication. He underwent extensive evaluation and testing to explore other common causes of inflammatory arthritis, including autoimmune etiologies. None of the test results were helpful, and we hypothesized that his arthritis was induced by clopidogrel. Discontinuing this agent resulted in the complete resolution of the patient's symptoms. Since medication-induced arthritis is a diagnosis of exclusion, these patients should undergo a complete workup for inflammatory arthritis. If possible, a risk-benefit analysis of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) in ischemic stroke patients with a prior history of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) should be done in collaboration with neurology.
ISSN:2168-8184
2168-8184
DOI:10.7759/cureus.50564