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Myocardial infarction sometimes complicates percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) despite intravenous infusion of a glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa inhibitor. To explore whether intracoronary delivery of the GP IIb/IIIa inhibitor improves myocardial perfusion, researchers randomized 43 patients undergoing PCI for acute coronary syndromes (ACS) at a single center to either intravenous or intracoronary administration of two boluses of eptifibatide 10 minutes apart. Both groups received a standard maintenance dose intravenously for 18 hours. Platelet GP IIb/IIIa receptor occupancy and platelet aggregation were assessed using blood samples from the coronary sinus and the femoral artery.
Receptor occupancy, measured 30 to 60 seconds after administr…