Pradaxa Lawsuit News - 2/29/2012: Did you take Pradaxa? Please contact us today if you took Pradaxa and later experienced harmful side effects. We will connect you with a lawyer that is experienced in complex litigation that may be able to help you recover monetary damages.
Pradaxa Lawsuit: Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) accounts for 10-15% of all strokes. Primary ICH occurs when small intracranial vessels are damaged by chronic hypertension (HTN) or cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), and accounts for 78-88% of all ICH. The incidence of ICH worldwide ranges from 10 to 20 cases per 100 000 population and increases with age. Certain populations, in particular, the Japanese and those of Afro-Caribbean descent, have a heightened incidence of 50-55 per 100 000 that may reflect a higher prevalence of HTN and/or decreased access to healthcare. The incidence of hemorrhage increases exponentially with age and is higher in men than in women. Neurologic deficits from ICH reflect the location of the initial bleeding and associated edema. In addition, seizures, vomiting, headache, and diminished level of consciousness are common presenting symptoms. A depressed level of alertness on initial evaluation occurs infrequently in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) but is seen in approximately 50% of patients with ICH.
Pradaxa Lawsuit: Spontaneous, or non-traumatic, ICH has a much poorer outcome than AIS.1 There is a 62% mortality rate by 1 year, and only about 20% of survivors are living independently by 6 months. About half of the deaths due to ICH over the first 30 days will occur within the first 2 days, largely from cerebral herniation. Later, mortality is more commonly due to medical complications, such as aspiration pneumonia or venous thromboembolism. By far the most important modifiable risk factor for spontaneous ICH is HTN. Primary hypertensive hemorrhage results from the rupture of small penetrating arteries originating in the anterior, middle (i.e., articulateness), and posterior cerebral (i.e., thalamostriate) arteries and the pons (i.e., paramedian perforators) (1.3). HTN causes vessel rupture at or near the bifurcation of affected vessels, where degeneration of components of the arterial wall (media and smooth muscle) are identified. The annual risk of recurrent hemorrhage is 2% without antihypertensive treatment.
Pradaxa Lawsuit: Cerebral amyloid angiopathy. This multiloculated, oparietal region (left)lobar lesion seen on non-contrast head CT scan (A), started in the right front and by the next day (right), developed extensive intraventricular involvement, subfalcine herniation with right-to-left shift, and a subarachnoid component. The hyperdense finding in the frontal horns is an intraventricular catheter (arrowhead). Macropathology: lobar hematoma, with adjacent edema (B). Note the midline mass effect on and compression of the adjacent lateral ventricle (arrows). Micropathology: amyloid angiopathy, demonstrated by deposits within the vessel wall of an acellular, eosinophilic material (hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain) (C, 40x; D, 100x; arrows). The amyloid material exhibits a fluorescent green birefringence under polarized light (thioflavin S stain, 100x) (E). Illicit drug use and coagulopathic disorder are associated with an increased risk of ICH. Over-the-counter stimulants, particularly if taken in excessive quantities, may predispose to ICH (case study 1). A large case-control study associated phenylpropanolamine use with ICH in young patients.Up to 70% of patients with primary ICH develop some measurable amount of lesion expansion over the initial few hours.Hematoma growth is an independent determinant of both mortality and functional outcome after ICH.
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