title: Preventive Ceftriaxone in Patients with Stroke Treated with Intravenous Thrombolysis: Post Hoc Analysis of the Preventive Antibiotics in Stroke Study.
abstract: The Preventive Antibiotics in Stroke Study (PASS), a randomized open-label masked endpoint trial, showed that preventive ceftriaxone did not improve functional outcome at 3 months in patients with acute stroke (adjusted common OR 0.95; 95% CI 0.82-1.09). Post-hoc analyses showed that among patients who received intravenous thrombolysis (IVT), patients who received ceftriaxone had a significantly better outcome as compared with the control group. This study aimed to gain more insight into the characteristics of these patients.
  
  
  
  In PASS, 2,550 patients were randomly assigned to preventive antibiotic treatment with ceftriaxone or standard care. In current post-hoc analysis, 836 patients who received IVT were included. Primary outcome included functional status on the modified Rankin Scale, analyzed with adjusted ordinal regression. Secondary outcomes included infection rate and symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH) rate.
  
  
  
  For all patients in PASS, the p value for the interaction between IVT and preventive ceftriaxone regarding functional outcome was 0.03. Of the 836 IVT-treated patients, 437 were administered ceftriaxone and 399 were allocated to the control group. Baseline characteristics were similar. In the IVT subgroup, preventive ceftriaxone was associated with a significant reduction in unfavorable outcome (adjusted common OR 0.77; 95% CI 0.61-0.99; p = 0.04). Mortality at 3 months was similar (OR 0.75; 95% CI 0.48-1.18). Preventive ceftriaxone was associated with a reduction in infections (OR 0.43; 95% CI 0.28-0.66), and a trend towards an increased risk for sICH (OR 3.09; 95% CI 0.85-11.31). Timing of ceftriaxone administration did not influence the outcome (aOR 1.00; 95% CI 0.98-1.03; p = 0.85).
  
  
  
  According to the post-hoc analysis of PASS, preventive ceftriaxone may improve the functional outcome in IVT-treated patients with acute stroke, despite a trend towards an increased rate of post-IVT-sICH.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jan-Dirk
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Vermeij
authors.forename: Willeke F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Westendorp
authors.forename: Yvo B
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Roos
authors.forename: Matthijs C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Brouwer
authors.forename: Diederik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: van de Beek
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Nederkoorn
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D019072:Antibiotic Prophylaxis / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000401:mortality; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002443:Ceftriaxone / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000401:mortality; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D015912:Thrombolytic Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000401:mortality; D013997:Time Factors; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents; D002443:Ceftriaxone; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator