Safe to drop aspirin from dual antiplatelet therapy after PCI: study
Results from a meta-analysis show the risk-benefit assessment is favourable, researchers from Harvard University say
Discontinuing aspirin after a brief period of dual antiplatelet therapy post-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) reduces bleeding risk by 40% compared with continued dual therapy, a US study shows.
Furthermore, the strategy appears to cause no increase in major adverse cardiac events, according to the Harvard University, Massachusetts, meta-analysis.
The analysis included five randomised controlled trials that compared use of aspirin plus a P2Y12 inhibitor with a regimen of 1-3 months of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) followed by P2Y12 monotherapy only.
More than 32,000 patients were included in the study, all of whom had PCI for either acute coronary syndrome (56%) or stable coronary arterial disease (44%).
