Short Versus One-Year Dual Antiplatelet Therapy After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: an Updated Meta-Analysis

The present guidelines recommend dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) for 6 to 12 months after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), with recent trials assessing the safety and efficacy of shortening DAPT duration to ≤3 months. A systematic search of PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Central databases identified studies comparing short DAPT, followed by P2Y12i monotherapy (78% ticagrelor) versus standard 12-month DAPT in patients who underwent PCI with a drug-eluting stent. A total of 9 randomized controlled trials, including 42,770 patients (short DAPT n = 21,370, 49.96%), of whom 28,307 (66.18%) presented with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Short DAPT significantly reduced net adverse clinical events (NACEs) (risk ratio [RR] 0.78, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.67 to 0.91, p = 0.001, I² = 62%), major bleeding (RR 0.54, 95% CI 0.39 to 0.73, p <0.001, I² = 63%), and any bleeding (RR 0.55, 95% CI 0.43 to 0.72, p <0.001, I² = 77%) at 12 months compared with 1-year DAPT. No significant differences were observed in major adverse cardiovascular/cerebrovascular events, myocardial infarction, stroke, stent thrombosis, mortality, or revascularization. Ticagrelor monotherapy after short DAPT further reduced major adverse cardiovascular/cerebrovascular events (RR 0.85, 95% CI 0.73 to 0.99, p = 0.040, I² = 22%), NACE (RR 0.74, 95% CI 0.61 to 0.89, p = 0.001, I² = 68%), and major bleeding (RR 0.56, 95% CI 0.40 to 0.78, p <0.001, I² = 71%) compared with 1-year DAPT; however, the test for subgroup interaction (P_interaction >0.05) for clopidogrel subgroup was not significant. P2Y12i monotherapy reduced the risk of NACEs (RR 0.77, 95%CI 0.66 to 0.90, p = 0.001, I² = 52%, P_interaction = 0.58) and major bleeding (RR 0.44, 95%CI 0.35 to 0.55, p <0.001, I² = 0%, P_interaction <0.01) in the ACS cohort but not in the chronic coronary syndrome cohort. In conclusion, short DAPT for ≤3 months followed by P2Y12i monotherapy (particularly, ticagrelor) was associated with decreased NACEs and bleeding without differences in other outcomes and should be considered a favorable option in patients with either ACS or chronic coronary syndrome after PCI with a drug-eluting stent.