Long- vs. Short-Term Dual Antiplatelet Therapy After Drug-Eluting Stent Implantation

Long-term DAPT raised bleeding risk without lowering risk for adverse cardiovascular outcomes, regardless of diabetes status.

Guidelines recommend dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) for a minimum of 6 months following drug-eluting coronary artery stent implantation (NEJM JW Cardiol Nov 2016 and J Am Coll Cardiol 2016; 68:1082). Whether longer-duration DAPT is beneficial, especially in patients with diabetes (who have high ischemic risk), is unclear. In this meta-analysis of individual patient data from six randomized trials, researchers compared outcomes between short-term DAPT (3–6 months) and long-term DAPT (≥12 months) after drug-eluting stent placement in 11,500 patients (mean age, 63), one third of whom had diabetes.

One-year outcomes were as follows:

Incidence of major adverse cardiovascular (CV) events was higher in patients with diabetes than in those without …

Reviewing Author

Paul S. Mueller, MD, MPH, FACP

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

Paul S. Mueller, MD, MPH, FACP

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

Long- vs. Short-Term Dual Antiplatelet Therapy After Drug-Eluting Stent Implantation

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Reviewing Author