The Mystery of Clopidogrel-Associated Inflammatory Arthritis.

Abstract

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 agentresulted in the complete resolution of the patient's symptoms. Since medication-induced arthritis is adiagnosis 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.