Efficacy and safety of bivalirudin in patients with diabetes mellitus undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention in current clinical practice.
OBJECTIVE
This study sought to evaluate the short- and long-term efficacy and safety of bivalirudin in diabetic patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in contemporary clinical practice.


BACKGROUND
Early trials of platelet glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa inhibitors have suggested a survival benefit in diabetic patients undergoing PCI. More recently, randomized trials have demonstrated that diabetic patients have similar protection from acute ischemic events, while lowering the risk of bleeding complications, when treated with bivalirudin monotherapy versus heparin plus GP IIb/IIIa blockade. However, the impact of bivalirudin use on long-term outcomes in diabetic patients undergoing PCI remains unclear.


RESULTS
Using the Cornell Angioplasty Registry, we studied 786 consecutive diabetic patients undergoing urgent or elective PCI with a mean clinical follow up of 24.6 +/- 7.8 months. Of these, 428 patients (54.5%) received bivalirudin monotherapy and 358 patients (45.5%) received unfractionated heparin (UFH) plus GP IIb/IIIa inhibition. The incidence of in-hospital death (0% vs. 0.3%; p = 0.46), post-procedural myocardial infarction (MI) (4.7% vs. 7.0%; p = 0.169), and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) (death, MI, stroke or urgent revascularization) (4.9% vs. 7.3%; p = 0.176) was similar in the two groups, with less minor bleeding (9.6% vs. 14.5%; p = 0.035) in the bivalirudin vs. UFH plus GP IIb/IIIa inhibitor group, respectively. By the end of follow up, there were 38 (8.9%) deaths in the bivalirudin vs. 19 (5.3%) deaths in the GP IIb/IIIa inhibitor arm (hazard ratio [HR] 1.8, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.0-3.1; p = 0.04). However, after a propensity score-adjusted multivariate Cox regression analysis, there was no longer a significant difference in long-term mortality between the two groups (HR 1.63; chi(2) = 2.61; 95% CI 0.90-2.94; p = 0.106).


CONCLUSIONS
These findings indicate that in diabetic patients, bivalirudin monotherapy results in similar protection from acute ischemic events and long-term mortality, while lowering the risk of minor bleeding in comparison to UFH plus GP IIb/IIIa inhibition.
Kim
Luke K
LK
New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College, Greenberg Division of Cardiology, 520 East 70th Street, New York, NY 10021, USA.
Wong
S Chiu
SC
Minutello
Robert M
RM
Bergman
Geoffrey
G
Feldman
Dmitriy N
DN
D000368:Aged; D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006493:Heparin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006629:Hirudins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019039:Platelet Glycoprotein GPIIb-IIIa Complex / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020521:Stroke / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000925:Anticoagulants; D006629:Hirudins; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D019039:Platelet Glycoprotein GPIIb-IIIa Complex; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D006493:Heparin; C074619:bivalirudin