Dual Versus Single Antiplatelet Therapy (DAPT) Duration after Drug-Eluting Stent (DES) Placement in Patients with High Bleeding Risk
Author(s): Dina AlMistarihi, Dr. Mugdha Chavan, Sumaiya Rafique, Muhammed Ebrahim, Shaheeda Sharin, Rana Mustafa Al Witry, Eman Elsayed Mohamed Ali, Afnan Ibrahim Elsadig, Zainab Mohammed Ali Adam, Dania Babeker Ali Alahmar, Walaa Abdalla Mohamed Ahmed, Yazan Ahmed Mahmood Namoora, Aateka Fatima Mohammed Ateeq, Huda Mohamed Hussein Himmad
This is a systematic review and meta-analysis of the safety and effectiveness of short-duration over the standard-duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) in patients with high bleeding risk (HBR) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention with the implantation of drug-eluting stents. Eight randomized controlled trials were found using a comprehensive search of databases PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central, and Scopus databases and have a total of 12,467 patients and were published within 2015 to 2023. Short term DAPT (≤3 months) was compared to standard including DAPT (≥6 months). The major bleeding and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) constituted the primary outcomes, whereas stent thrombosis, myocardial infarction, and all-cause mortality were the secondary outcomes. The pooled analysis showed that the risk of major bleeding was significantly decreased with abbreviated DAPT (RR 0.68; 95% CI 0.54–0.85; p = 0.001) with low levels of heterogeneity (I² = 21%). No statistically significant difference existed in MACE (RR 1.04; 95% CI 0.90–1.20; p = 0.62), stent thrombosis, myocardial infarction or all-cause mortality between the two strategies. The assessment of the risk of bias showed that overall there was low methodological bias in the included trials. These results indicate that short-course DAPT offers better bleeding safety with little ischemic protection loss in selectively chosen HBR patients. New, large-scale research and longer-term follow-up is justified in conserving the long-term results and correct the customized treatment plans.