ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Patients with high bleeding risk (HBR) may exhibit uncertain adherence to dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) following drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation. The current population-based cohort study aimed to investigate the sex-based differences in adverse outcomes among the HBR population by analyzing the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan. METHODS: Patients who had HBR features defined by the Academic Research Consortium (ARC) and received DES implantation between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2017, were enrolled. Propensity score matching was adopted to select 3,981 pairs with similar clinical cardiovascular risks but different sexes. A competing risk model was performed to evaluate the risk of adverse ischemic events (cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and ischemic stroke) and any bleeding events in both sexes. Noncardiac death was considered a competing risk. RESULTS: Within a 5-year follow-up, the incidence rates (per 1,000 person-year (95% confidence interval (CI)) of composite ischemic events and any bleeding events in males were respectively 44.09 (40.25-48.30) and 42.55 (38.79-46.68), while those in females were respectively 40.18 (36.51-44.23) and 42.35 (38.57-46.51). After adjustment for clinical variables, male patients had a marginally increased risk in the composite ischemic events (adjusted subdistribution hazard ratio (SHR) = 1.15 (1.00-1.31), p = 0.045) and a similar risk of any bleeding events (adjusted SHR = 1.00 (0.88-1.15), p = 0.946) compared with female patients. CONCLUSIONS: Of the HBR population, males had an increased risk of ischemic outcomes but a similar risk of bleeding compared with females following DES implantation.
ABSTRACT
Background: Even though the proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors, alirocumab and evolocumab, have been approved to reduce plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in high-risk patients, real-world data showing comparisons of the lipid-lowering effects between alirocumab and evolocumab are scarce because of the low prescription rates of PCSK9 inhibitors in clinical practice. Methods: Between Feb 2018 and Sep 2021, 22 patients who received alirocumab and 22 patients who received evolocumab at a tertiary medical center were enrolled. The patients' baseline characteristics, prescribed medications, plasma LDL-C levels, and percentages of reduction in LDL-C were compared between alirocumab users and evolocumab users. Results: The alirocumab users more frequently received ezetimibe treatment (72.7% vs. 40.9%, p = 0.03) and had higher baseline LDL-C (165.6 ± 63.2 mg/dL vs. 130.8 ± 56.3 mg/dL, p = 0.04) compared with the evolocumab users. At 6 months of follow-up, the plasma LDL-C levels in the alirocumab users were similar to those in the evolocumab users (79.3 ± 64.0 mg/dL vs. 63.5 ± 44.1 mg/dL, p = 0.48). Additionally, the percentages of LDL-C reduction following treatment were similar between the alirocumab users and evolocumab users (-47.0% ± 45.0% vs. -49.8 ± 24.9%, p = 0.66). Conclusions: The LDL-C lowering effects of alirocumab are similar to those of evolocumab in clinical practice.
ABSTRACT
Hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) remains a risk-enhancing factor of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. We aimed to report real-world data on the management of patients with type V hyperlipoproteinemia (HLP5), an uncommon phenotype of dyslipidemia characterized by fasting chylomicronemia and severe HTG. Between July 2018 and May 2021, 90 patients with HTG, including 83 patients with type IV hyperlipoproteinemia (HLP4) and 7 patients with HLP5, were identified by plasma apolipoprotein B (apoB) and lipoprotein electrophoresis. Patients with HLP5 were younger, had higher total cholesterol (TC) (264.9 ± 26.7 mg/dL vs. 183.9 ± 26.1 mg/dL; p < 0.01) and higher triglyceride (TG) (1296.7 ± 380.5 mg/dL vs. 247.6 ± 96.1 mg/dL; p < 0.01), and had lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (30.6 ± 4.8 mg/dL vs. 40.5 ± 8.7 mg/dL; p < 0.01) and lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (62.9 ± 16.4 vs. 103.0 ± 21.1 mg/dL; p < 0.01) compared with patients with HLP4. Despite an aggressive use of statin and fenofibrate with greater reductions in TG (-65.9 ± 13.7% vs. -27.9 ± 30.5%; p < 0.01) following 6 months of treatment, patients with HLP5 had persistent HTG (440.1 ± 239.0 mg/dL vs. 173.9 ± 94.8 mg/dL; p < 0.01) and an increase in LDL-C (28.3 ± 57.2% vs. -19.5 ± 32.0%; p < 0.01) compared with patients with HLP4. Our findings highlight that the lack of novel TG-lowering medications and management guidelines remains an unmet medical need in patients with HLP5. Closely monitoring lipid profiles, full assessment of individual's risk of cardiovascular disease, and emphasis on medication adherence are of clinical importance.
