Impact of P2Y12 inhibitors on clinical outcomes in sepsis-3 patients receiving aspirin: a propensity score matched analysis

Abstract

Background Sepsis is a life-threatening disease accompanied by disorders of the coagulation and immune systems. P2Y12 inhibitors, widely used for arterial thrombosis prevention and treatment, possess recently discovered anti-inflammatory properties, raising potential for improved sepsis prognosis. Method We conducted a retrospective analysis using the data from Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care-IV database. Patients were divided into an aspirin-alone group versus a combination group based on the use of a P2Y12 inhibitor or not. Differences in 30-day mortality, length of stay (LOS) in intensive care unit (ICU), LOS in hospital, bleeding events and thrombotic events were compared between the two groups. Result A total of 1701 pairs of matched patients were obtained by propensity score matching. We found that no statistically significant difference in 30-day mortality in aspirin-alone group and combination group (15.3% vs. 13.7%, log-rank p = 0.154). In addition, patients received P2Y12 inhibitors had a higher incidence of gastrointestinal bleeding (0.5% vs. 1.6%, p = 0.004) and ischemic stroke (1.7% vs. 2.9%, p = 0.023), despite having a shorter LOS in hospital (11.1 vs. 10.3, days, p = 0.043). Cox regression showed that P2Y12 inhibitor was not associated with 30-day mortality (HR = 1.14, 95% CI 0.95–1.36, p = 0.154). Conclusion P2Y12 inhibitors did not provide a survival benefit for patients with sepsis 3 and even led to additional adverse clinical outcomes.