The effect of intended duration of clopidogrel use on early and late mortality and major adverse cardiac events in patients with drug-eluting stents.
BACKGROUND
The optimal duration of clopidogrel use for prevention of stent thrombosis with drug-eluting stent (DES) use is uncertain. Our objective was to determine whether the planned duration of clopidogrel at the time of percutaneous coronary intervention affected patient outcomes.


METHODS
We analyzed data from 2,980 patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention in the Melbourne Interventional Group registry who had 12-month follow-up. We compared outcomes at 30 days and 12 months according to planned duration of clopidogrel use.


RESULTS
Twelve-month mortality was significantly lower in patients with a DES with a longer (>or=12 months) planned duration of clopidogrel when compared with a shorter (<or=6 months) planned duration (2.8% vs 5.3%, P = .012). However, myocardial infarction, target-vessel revascularization, and overall major adverse cardiac events were similar in the longer- and shorter-duration clopidogrel strategies. In contrast, in patients receiving a bare-metal stent, mortality at 12 months was similar among the clopidogrel-duration strategies. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated improved cumulative survival with planned clopidogrel use of >or=12 months (log rank P = .017), and the propensity score-adjusted odds ratio was 0.59 (95% confidence interval 0.35-0.99, P = .04). Premature cessation of clopidogrel in DES patients was documented in 5.2% of patients alive at 30-day follow-up, and these patients had increased 12-month mortality (10.6% vs 1.4%, P < .0001) and major adverse cardiac events (22.4% vs 12.0%, P = .005).


CONCLUSIONS
These data suggest that in patients treated with DES, longer (>or=12 months) planned duration of clopidogrel results in reduced 12-month mortality and that premature cessation of clopidogrel results in significantly higher event rates. Randomized studies are urgently needed to address this issue.
Department of Cardiology at the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Michelle J
MJ
Butler
David
D
Eccleston
David J
DJ
Clark
Andrew E
AE
Ajani
Nick
N
Andrianopoulos
Angela
A
Brennan
Gishel
G
New
Alexander
A
Black
Gregory
G
Szto
Chris M
CM
Reid
Bryan P
BP
Yan
James A
JA
Shaw
Anthony M
AM
Dart
Stephen J
SJ
Duffy
D000368:Aged; D000077144:Clopidogrel; D023921:Coronary Stenosis / Q000601:surgery*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D054855:Drug-Eluting Stents; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006083:Graft Occlusion, Vascular / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control; D017052:Hospital Mortality / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009204:Myocardial Revascularization / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000295:instrumentation; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends; D013988:Ticlopidine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014739:Victoria / Q000453:epidemiology
D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; D000077144:Clopidogrel; D013988:Ticlopidine