title: Long-term versus short-term clopidogrel therapy in patients undergoing coronary stenting (from the Randomized Argentine Clopidogrel Stent [RACS] trial).
abstract: The optimal duration of treatment with clopidogrel after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with stent placement remains controversial. The Randomized Argentine Clopidogrel Stent (RACS) trial was a prospective, randomized, nonblinded study of 1,004 patients undergoing PCI who were randomized after successful bare metal stent placement to 30 versus 180 days of clopidogrel; all patients also received aspirin. Patients were eligible regardless of whether they had presented with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (MI), acute coronary syndrome, or stable angina. The primary end point was a composite of death, MI, and stroke at 180 days. Baseline clinical characteristics showed no differences between groups in terms of age, gender, history, risk factors, or incidence of diabetes; 72% presented with an acute coronary syndrome and 15% had MI as the indication for PCI. At hospital discharge and 30 days, when the 2 groups received the same treatment, there were no significant differences between groups in frequency of death, MI, or stroke. However, from 30 days to 6 months, patients assigned to 6 months of clopidogrel reached the primary end point of death, MI, and stroke less frequently (4.99% vs 1.74%, p = 0.010, relative risk decrease 65%). No significant between-group differences were found in frequency of total bleeding (0.64% vs 1.52%, p = 0.34) for the control and study groups. In conclusion, after successful placement of a bare metal stent in a coronary artery, patients treated with 6 months of clopidogrel showed a trend toward fewer adverse events compared with those treated for 30 days.
authors.affiliation: Clínica del Sol, Buenos Aires, Argentina. victorbernardi@arnet.com.ar
authors.forename: Víctor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bernardi
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Szarfer
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Summay
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Mendiz
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sarmiento
authors.forename: Máximo Rodriguez
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Alemparte
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gabay
authors.forename: Peter B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Berger
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary / Q000295:instrumentation*; D001118:Argentina / Q000453:epidemiology; D000077144:Clopidogrel; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015607:Stents; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends; D013988:Ticlopidine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; D000077144:Clopidogrel; D013988:Ticlopidine