Efficacy and safety of bivalirudin in patients receiving clopidogrel therapy after diagnostic angiography for percutaneous coronary intervention in acute coronary syndromes

Objectives : This study sought to investigate if the efficacy of bivalirudin monotherapy is similar to heparin plus GP IIb/IIIa inhibition in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) treated with clopidogrel following diagnostic angiography. Background : Prior trials have demonstrated that peri‐procedural bivalirudin therapy confers similar efficacy as heparin plus GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors, while lowering the risk of bleeding complications in ACS patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervnetions (PCI). However, the incidence of adverse ischemic events post‐PCI appeared to be higher in patients receiving bivalirudin without adequate pretreatment with clopidogrel. Methods : Using the 2004/2005 Cornell Angioplasty Registry, we evaluated 980 consecutive patients undergoing urgent PCI for UA/NSTEMI who were treated with either bivalirudin or UFH plus GP IIb/IIIa inhibitor. We excluded patients who were on chronic clopidogrel therapy or received clopidogrel pretreatment prior to angiography. All patients received a clopidogrel load (≥300‐mg dose) immediately before or after the PCI. Long‐term all‐cause mortality was obtained for 100% of patients, with a mean follow‐up of 24.6 ± 7.7 months. Results : Of the 980 study patients, 461 (47.0%) were treated with bivalirudin and 519 (53.0%) patients received UFH plus GP IIb/IIIa inhibitor. DES were used in 88% of PCI; 45% of patients presented with NSTEMI. The incidence of in‐hospital death (0.4% vs. 0.2%, P = 0.604), post‐procedural MI (6.9% vs. 5.4%, P = 0.351), and MACE including death, stroke, emergent CABG/PCI, and MI (7.6% vs. 5.8%, P = 0.304) were similar in patients treated with bivalirudin versus UFH plus GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors, respectively. The incidence of in‐hospital stent thrombosis was similar (0.7% vs. 0%, P = 0.104), while major (0.9% vs. 2.9%, P = 0.034) and minor bleeding (10.4% vs. 18.9%, P < 0.001) was reduced in the bivalirudin‐treated group. By two‐years of follow‐up, after propensity‐score adjusted multivariate Cox regression analysis, there was no significant difference in long‐term mortality between the two groups (HR 1.18; 95%CI 0.64–2.19, P = 0.598). Conclusions : In patients presenting with ACS and receiving clopidogrel treatment after angiography (before or within 30 min of PCI), peri‐procedural bivalirudin monotherapy suppresses acute and long‐term adverse events to a similar extent as does UFH plus GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors, while significantly lowering the risk of bleeding complications. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.