Aspirin lowers cardiovascular events in pneumonia patients

Aspirin appears to reduce cardiovascular events in patients with pneumonia, researchers reported on July 7, 2021 at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID).

Investigator Dr. Fergus Hamilton, Wellcome Doctoral Fellow at the University of Bristol, UK, said, “This research really paves the foundation for a clinical trial of aspirin in pneumonia, which remains the most common reason for admission to hospital in many countries.”

As background, the researchers noted that cardiovascular complications are often seen in pneumonia patients and are associated with long-term mortality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether aspirin could reduce the risk of ischemic stroke and myocardial infarction (heart attack).

The researchers gathered data on all patients aged over 50 with pneumonia from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), a UK primary care database of more than 61 million patients.

The primary outcome of the retrospective study was occurrence of both ischemic stroke and heart attack. Either event happening alone was a secondary outcome.

Of the 48,743 eligible patients 8,099 were aspirin users. They were matched to 8,099 non-users.

The investigators reported that aspirin users achieved a 36% reduced risk of the primary outcome.

For both secondary outcomes, aspirin users achieved a 54% reduced risk of heart attack and a 30% reduced risk of ischemic stroke.

The researchers concluded, “This study provides supporting evidence that aspirin use is associated with reduced ischemic events after pneumonia in a primary care setting. This drug may have a future clinical role in preventing this important complication.”