Abstract
Funding Acknowledgements
Type of funding sources: None.
Background
Recent emphasis on reduced duration and/or intensity of antiplatelet therapy following PCI irrespective of indication for PCI may fail to account for the substantial risk of subsequent nontarget lesion events in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients. This study sought to investigate the benefits and risks of extended-term (>12-month) DAPT as compared with short-term DAPT in high-risk "TWILIGHT-like" ACS patients undergoing PCI.
Methods
All consecutive patients fulfilling the "TWILIGHT-like" criteria undergoing PCI from January 2013 to December 2013 were identified from the prospective Fuwai PCI Registry. High-risk "TWILIGHT-like" patients were defined by at least 1 clinical and 1 angiographic feature based on TWILIGHT trial selection criteria. The present analysis evaluated 4,875 high-risk "TWILIGHT-like" patients with ACS who were event-free at 12 months after PCI. The primary outcome was the composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction (MI), or stroke at 30 months while BARC type 2, 3, or 5 bleeding was key secondary outcome.
Results
Extended DAPT compared with shorter DAPT reduced the composite outcome of all-cause death, MI, or stroke by 63% (1.5% vs. 3.8%; HRadj: 0.374, 95% CI: 0.256 to 0.548; HRmatched: 0.361, 95% CI: 0.221-0.590). The HR for cardiovascular death was 0.049 (0.007 to 0.362) and that for MI 0.45 (0.153 to 1.320) and definite/probable stent thrombosis 0.296 (0.080-1.095) in propensity-matched analyses. Rates of BARC type 2, 3, or 5 bleeding (0.9% vs. 1.3%; HRadj: 0.668 [0.379 to 1.178]; HRmatched: 0.721 [0.369-1.410]) did not differ significantly in patients treated with DAPT > 12-month or DAPT ≤ 12-month. The effect of long-term DAPT on primary and key secondary outcome across the proportion of ACS patients with 1-3, 4-5, or 6-9 risk factors showed a consistent manner (Pinteraction > 0.05).
Conclusion
Among high-risk "TWILIGHT-like" patients with ACS after PCI, long-term DAPT reduced ischemic events without increasing clinically meaningful bleeding events as compared with short-term DAPT, suggesting that extended DAPT might be considered in the treatment of ACS patients who present with a particularly higher risk for thrombotic complications. Abstract Figure.
Antiplatelet therapy in acute coronary syndrome: current status and future directions
