Efficacy of cilostazol in preventing aspiration pneumonia in acute cerebral infarction.

This retrospective study examined the effectiveness of cilostazol in preventing aspiration pneumonia in patients with acute cerebral infarction. The 189 subjects ranged in age from 31 to 95 years and included 57 with small-artery occlusion, 107 with large-artery atherothrombosis, and 25 with other disorders. Patients with cardiogenic cerebral embolism or preexisting pneumonia at the time of hospital admission were excluded from the analysis. Neurologic symptoms, cognitive function, and swallowing function were assessed at the first clinical examination, and the ability to perform activities of daily living was assessed at both hospital admission and discharge. Outcome and food intake status were also assessed at hospital discharge. Pneumonia was detected in 27 of 189 subjects (14.3%), in 20 subjects during nasogastric tube feeding implemented because of oral intake difficulties (fasting group) and in 7 subjects after initiation of oral feeding (oral intake group). Cilostazol was administered to 48 of the 189 subjects (25.4%). The incidence of pneumonia was 6.3% (3 of 48) in patients who received cilostazol, compared with 17% (24 of 141) in those who did not receive cilostazol. Our data suggest that cilostazol appears to prevent the occurrence of pneumonia in both the chronic and acute stages of cerebral infarction.