FRIDAY, Dec. 11 (HealthDay News) -- In patients who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stents, 24 months of treatment with aspirin and clopidogrel is associated with a lower risk of very late thrombosis than a shorter treatment regimen, according to a study in the Nov. 15 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.
Gaetano Tanzilli, M.D., from La Sapienza University in Rome, and colleagues examined the risk of very late thrombosis in 897 patients who underwent PCI with stenting and had dual antiplatelet therapy (aspirin and clopidogrel) for 12 or 24 months. Of these, 450 patients received bare metal stents and 447 patients received drug-eluting stents.
After four years of follow-up, in patients receiving drug-eluting stents, the researchers found significantly fewer cases of stent thrombosis in the 24-month group than the 12-month group (one versus five). The one case in the 24-month group was subacute thrombosis, while in the 12-month group, one case was subacute thrombosis and four cases were very late thrombosis.
"In conclusion, a two-year dual antiplatelet regimen with aspirin and clopidogrel can prevent the occurrence of very late stent thrombosis after PCI with drug-eluting stents," Tanzilli and colleagues write.
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