IMPORTANCE Discontinuing aspirin after short-term dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) was evaluated as a bleeding reduction strategy. However, the strategy of ticagrelor monotherapy has not been exclusively evaluated in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). OBJECTIVE To determine whether switching to ticagrelor monotherapy after 3 months of DAPT reduces net adverse clinical events compared with ticagrelor-based 12-month DAPT in patients with ACS treated with drug-eluting stents. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS A randomized multicenter trial was conducted in 3056 patients with ACS treated with drug-eluting stents between August 2015 and October 2018 at 38 centers in South Korea. Follow-up was completed in October 2019. INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive ticagrelor monotherapy (90 mg twice daily) after 3-month DAPT (n = 1527) or ticagrelor-based 12-month DAPT (n = 1529). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was a 1-year net adverse clinical event, defined as a composite of major bleeding and adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (death, myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis, stroke, or target-vessel revascularization). Prespecified secondary outcomes included major bleeding and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events. RESULTS Among 3056 patients who were randomized (mean age, 61 years; 628 women [20%]; 36% ST-elevation myocardial infarction), 2978 patients (97.4%) completed the trial. The primary outcome occurred in 59 patients (3.9%) receiving ticagrelor monotherapy after 3-month DAPT and in 89 patients (5.9%) receiving ticagrelor-based 12-month DAPT (absolute difference, −1.98% [95% CI, −3.50% to −0.45%]; hazard ratio [HR], 0.66 [95% CI, 0.48 to 0.92]; P = .01). Of 10 prespecified secondary outcomes, 8 showed no significant difference. Major bleeding occurred in 1.7% of patients with ticagrelor monotherapy after 3-month DAPT and in 3.0% of patients with ticagrelor-based 12-month DAPT (HR, 0.56 [95% CI, 0.34 to 0.91]; P = .02). The incidence of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events was not significantly different between the ticagrelor monotherapy after 3-month DAPT group (2.3%) vs the ticagrelor-based 12-month DAPT group (3.4%) (HR, 0.69 [95% CI, 0.45 to 1.06]; P = .09). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Among patients with acute coronary syndromes treated with drug-eluting stents, ticagrelor monotherapy after 3 months of dual antiplatelet therapy, compared with ticagrelor-based 12-month dual antiplatelet therapy, resulted in a modest but statistically significant reduction in a composite outcome of major bleeding and cardiovascular events at 1 year. The study population and lower than expected event rates should be considered in interpreting the trial.

clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01308281.

Compared with 12-month DAPT, 6-month DAPT did not increase the composite events of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, stroke, or TIMI major bleeding at 1 year in patients who underwent everolimus-eluting stent implantation. (Impact of Intravascular Ultrasound Guidance on Outcomes of XIENCE PRIME Stents in Long Lesions [IVUS-XPL Study]; NCT01308281).

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to investigate the combined usefulness of platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in predicting the long-term adverse events in patients who have undergone percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with a drug-eluting stent (DES).Methods798 patients with stable angina, unstable angina and non-ST elevated myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) who underwent elective successful PCI with DES were consecutively enrolled. The value of PLR and NLR in predicting adverse coronary artery disease (CAD) events and the correlations between these markers and adverse events (all-cause mortality, cardiac death, and nonfatal myocardial infarction) were analyzed.ResultsThe follow-up period was 62.8 ± 28.8 months. When patients were classified into four groups according to the optimal cut-off values for the PLR and NLR on receiver operating characteristic analysis, patients with a high PLR (>128) and high NLR (>2.6) had the highest occurrence of adverse events among the groups. On Cox multivariate analysis, the NLR >2.6 [hazard ratio (HR) 2.352, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.286 to 4.339, p = 0.006] and the PLR >128 (HR 2.372, 95% CI 1.305 to 3.191, p = 0.005) were independent predictors of long-term adverse events after adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors. Moreover, both a PLR >128 and a NLR >2.6 were the strongest predictors of adverse events (HR 2.686, 95% CI 1.452 to 4.970, p = 0.002).ConclusionHigh pre-intervention PLR and NLR, especially when combined, are independent predictors of long-term adverse clinical outcomes such as all-cause mortality, cardiac death, and myocardial infarction in patients with unstable angina and NSTEMI who have undergone successful PCI with DES.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is currently the leading cause of death globally, and the prevalence of this disease is growing more rapidly in the Asia-Pacific region than in Western countries. Although the use of metal coronary stents has rapidly increased thanks to the advancement of safety and efficacy of newer generation drug eluting stent (DES), patients are still negatively affected by some the inherent limitations of this type of treatment, such as stent thrombosis or restenosis, including neoatherosclerosis, and the obligatory use of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with unknown optimal duration. Drug-coated balloon (DCB) treatment is based on a leave-nothing-behind concept and therefore it is not limited by stent thrombosis and long-term DAPT; it directly delivers an anti-proliferative drug which is coated on a balloon after improving coronary blood flow. At present, DCB treatment is recommended as the first-line treatment option in metal stent-related restenosis linked to DES and bare metal stent. For de novo coronary lesions, the application of DCB treatment is extended further, for conditions such as small vessel disease, bifurcation lesions, and chronic total occlusion lesions, and others. Recently, several reports have suggested that fractional flow reserve guided DCB application was safe for larger coronary artery lesions and showed good long-term outcomes. Therefore, the aim of these recommendations of the consensus group was to provide adequate guidelines for patients with CAD based on objective evidence, and to extend the application of DCB to a wider variety of coronary diseases and guide their most effective and correct use in actual clinical practice.