Effect of early treatment with clopidogrel in patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome undergoing early percutaneous coronary intervention / 中国介入心脏病学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the short-term effect of early treatment with clopidogrel before elective coronary stenting in patients with NSTE-ACS,compared with treatment with clopidogrel at the time of the procedure. Methods Patients with NSTE-ACS undergoing elective coronary stenting were randomly divided into two groups: early treatment group (n=272) and control group (n=265). Patients in the early treatment group were given clopidogrel immediately since hospitalization (300 mg loading dose, then 75 mg once daily); while in the control group, patients were given clopidogrel (300 mg) after coronary angiography followed by 75 mg per day after PCI. The composite endpoints were death, recurrent angina pectoris, instent thrombosis, myocardial infarction and urgent target vessel revascularization within 30 days after coronary stenting. Results Differences in baseline characteristics among patients between the two groups were negligible. There were no significant difference in the target vessel lesions requiring stenting between the 2 groups. Compared with the control group, early administration of clopidogrel showed a lower rate of death, myocardial infarction, refractory ischaemia, instent thrombosis and revascularization within 30 days of PCI. Conclusion Compared with administration of clopidogrel at the time of coronary stenting, pre-treatment with clopidogrel in patients with NSTE-ACS could significantly reduce the odds of adverse cardiovascular event and improve clinical outcomes within 30 days of PCI.