The aim of the study was to explore the feasibility of same-day outpatient stent placement using a short course of intravenous antiplatelet therapy. Patients (n = 26) had stent placement and 6 hr of eptifibatide therapy. Demographics, procedural information, CPK data, and length of stay were recorded along with postdischarge outcomes. Twenty-one men and five women with median age of 60 years (49, 69) underwent transradial stenting. Baseline characteristics included diabetes 62%, hyperlipidemia 77%, prior coronary bypass surgery 19%, and unstable angina 35%. There were no CPK elevations (> 2 x normal) or ECG changes. Discharge occurred after 6.5 hr (5.8, 7.0). Neither vascular site complications nor readmission for procedure-related problems occurred. One patient later expressed concerns about discharge education. Outpatient stent placement with 6-hr infusion of GP IIb/IIIa inhibitor appears feasible and efficient in select patients. There may be challenges to meet with regard to patient education. Further studies with larger populations are needed to evaluate and optimize this approach.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.