Desmopressin antagonizes the in vitro platelet dysfunction induced by GPIIb/IIIa inhibitors and aspirin.

Whereas bleeding is the most frequent adverse event encountered in patients receiving glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa inhibitors, there are currently no recommendations for how to treat such patients. The present study tested the hypothesis that infusion of desmopressin (DDAVP) reverses the in vitro platelet dysfunction induced by GPIIb/IIIa inhibitors (+l-aspirin). Study group 1 (10 healthy volunteers) received a DDAVP infusion to establish dose-response curves for the in vitro inhibition of platelet function by eptifibatide, abciximab, and tirofiban together with l-aspirin before and after DDAVP.