Effect of dual antiplatelet therapy prolongation in acute coronary syndrome patients with both high ischemic and bleeding risk: insight from the OPT-CAD study.

Background: In current clinical practice, controversy remains regarding the clinical benefits of prolonged dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients facing high risks of both ischemia and bleeding ("bi-risk") following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of identifying a group of bi-risk ACS patients after PCI using the OPT-BIRISK criteria, emphasizing extended DAPT treatment safety and efficacy beyond 12 months in these bi-risk ACS after PCI in real-world conditions.

Methods: This analysis compared extended DAPT and single antiplatelet therapy (SAPT) at 12-24 months in ACS patients undergoing PCI complicated with both ischemic and bleeding risk as defined by OPT-BIRISK criteria without premature DAPT discontinuation before 9 months or major clinical adverse events within 12 months. This was a analysis of the Optimal antiPlatelet Antiplatelet Therapy for Chinese Patients with Coronary Artery Disease (OPT-CAD) study. The main research outcome was the incidence of ischemic events within 12-24 months, which was determined as a composite of stroke, myocardial infarction, and cardiac death events. Through propensity score matching (PSM), groups were balanced. For the external validation of the OPT-BIRISK criteria to identify a bi-risk ACS patient, ischemic events, BARC 2, 3, 5 bleeding events, and BARC 3, 5 bleeding events at 5 years were analyzed.

Results: The total number of ACS patients analyzed in this analysis was 7,049, of whom 4,146 (58.8%) were bi-risk patients and 2,903 (41.2%) were not. The frequency of ischemic events was significantly different between the two groups at 5 years (11.70% vs. 5.55%,  < 0.001), and the incidence of BARC 2,3,5 bleeding was significantly higher in the bi-risk group (6.90% vs. 4.03%,  < 0.001) than in the non-bi-risk group. Among the bi-risk patients without any clinical adverse events within 12 months that underwent extended DAPT treatment ( = 2,374, 75.7%) exhibited a lower risk of stroke at 12-24 months (1.10% vs. 2.10%,  = 0.036) relative to those that underwent SAPT ( = 763, 24.3%), while bleeding risk did not differ significantly between these groups. PSM cohort analysis results were consistent with those of overall group analyses.

Conclusion: In conclusion, the findings showed that using the OPT-BIRISK criteria could help physicians identify ACS patients at a high risk of developing recurrent ischemia and bleeding episodes after PCI. Compared to antiplatelet monotherapy, a strategy of extended DAPT may offer potential benefits in lowering the risk of stroke without carrying a disproportionately high risk of serious bleeding problems among these patients who were event-free after a year of DAPT.