Short-versus long-term dual antiplatelet therapy after second-generation drug-eluting stent implantation: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Short-term vs long-term dual antiplatelet therapy after drug-eluting stent implantation in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: A systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

The optimal duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is under controversial. The aim of the present systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of short-term (≤6 months) DAPT vs long-term (≥12 months) DAPT after PCI with a drug-eluting stent (DES).

METHODS

We systematically searched the Cochrane Library, PubMed and Embase databases to identify randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared short-term (≤6 months) and long-term (≥12 months) DAPT. The endpoints included major bleeding, any bleeding, death from any cause, cardiac death, myocardial infarction, stroke, stent thrombosis and target vessel revascularisation. The primary outcome was major bleeding. A fixed-effects model was used to calculate the risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of each endpoint.

RESULTS

Eighteen trials involving 57,940 patients were included. Compared with long-term DAPT, short-term DAPT resulted in lower rates of major bleeding [RR 0.75, 95% CI 0.65-0.87, P = .0002] and any bleeding [RR 0.61, 95% CI 0.54-0.69, P < .00001]. No significant difference was observed in the outcomes of death from any cause, cardiac death, myocardial infarction, stroke, stent thrombosis, or target vessel revascularisation. The subgroup analysis according to different DAPT durations, mono antiplatelet therapies (MAPTs), countries and P2Y12 inhibitors produced similar outcomes as comprehensive outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared with long-term DAPT, short-term DAPT did not increase the risk of ischemic complications but did reduce the risks of major bleeding and any bleeding by over 25%. This study showed that short-term DAPT could be considered for most patients after DES implantation.

Second generation drug-eluting stents: a focus on safety and efficacy of current devices

Introduction: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) represents the most frequent procedure performed in medicine. Second generation drug eluting stents (DES) have been developed to reduce the rates of late and very late complications of first generation DES.Areas covered: To improve long-term efficacy and safety of patients undergoing PCI, second generation DES have been developed with novel stent platforms, biocompatible durable and biodegradable polymers and newer antiproliferative agents. In this review we provide an overview of second generation DES and their clinical trials, discussing safety and effectiveness of these devices, and outlining clinical indication for use.Expert commentary: Numerous clinical trials have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of second generation DES over the last decade. These devices represent the gold standard treatment in stable and acute coronary syndromes.

Personalized antiplatelet therapy guided by a novel detection of platelet aggregation function in stable coronary artery disease patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: a randomized controlled clinical trial

Aims

A number of studies have attempted to demonstrate the benefits associated with personalized antiplatelet therapy guided by platelet function testing, which has led to disappointing findings. In this study, we used a new platelet function test to guide antiplatelet therapy in stable coronary artery disease (CAD) patients after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods and results

In the present randomized controlled trial, a total of 2237 patients with stable CAD undergoing PCI were randomly chosen to be administered personalized antiplatelet therapy (personalized group; n = 1123) or standard antiplatelet treatment (standard group; n = 1114). The patients in the standard therapy group, without detecting the platelet aggregation rate, were administered a 75 mg/day clopidogrel maintenance dosage plus 100 mg/day of aspirin for at least 6 months after the procedure. For the patients in the personalized therapy group, the antiplatelet strategy was performed according to the maximum aggregation rate (MAR), determined using a novel platelet analyser, PL-12. If MAR &gt; 55%, 90 mg ticagrelor was administered twice daily plus 100 mg/day of aspirin after PCI. If MAR ≤55%, 75 mg/day clopidogrel plus 100 mg/day of aspirin was administered after PCI. The primary endpoint was net clinical adverse events, which were a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, stroke, stent thrombosis, urgent revascularization, and bleeding [Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) definitions, Type 2, 3, or 5], in the 180-day period after randomization. The primary endpoint was reached in 58 patients in the personalized group, compared with 85 patients in the standard group [5.1% vs. 7.5%, hazard ratio (HR) 0.678, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.486–0.947, P = 0.023], on intention-to-treat analysis. We also found that the net clinical adverse events (including ischaemic and bleeding events) were significantly reduced in the personalized group at 30 days after PCI compared to the standard group (1.5% vs. 3.0%, HR 0.510, 95% CI 0.284–0.915, P = 0.020). We did not find a significant difference in major bleeding events at either the 30-day (0.5% vs. 0.3%, P = 0.322) or the 180-day follow-up (2.1% vs. 1.6%, P = 0.364) between the two groups.

Conclusion

The present study suggests that personalized antiplatelet therapy according to MAR can significantly improve the net clinical benefit 180 days after PCI.