Summary
Platelet reactivity (PR) and bleeding events following therapy with ticagrelor vs
prasugrel have not been adequately studied. We aimed to compare PR and bleeding events
in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention
(PCI) while on ticagrelor vs prasugrel for one month. Consecutive patients who were
discharged either on ticagrelor 90 mg bid maintenance dose (MD) or prasugrel 10 mg
MD were invited for PR assessment (VerifyNow, in PRU) at one month. High PR (HPR)
was defined as >208 PRU. Bleeding events [Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC)
classification] were monitored. Out of 937 screened patients, 512 were analysed, 278
under ticagrelor MD and 234 under prasugrel MD. PR at 30 days (C-statistic of the
propensity score model 0.63, 0.58–0.67 95% CI, p<0.001) was lower when on ticagrelor
compared with prasugrel (33.3, 95% CI 29.3–37.3 vs 84.6, 95% CI 73.6–95.6, p<0.001).
In the analysed population more BARC type 1 bleeding events were observed with ticagrelor
compared to prasugrel (36.7% vs 28.2%, p=0.047). In 221 propensity score matched pairs,
BARC type 1 bleeding rate was marginally higher in ticagrelor vs prasugrel treated
patients (35.7% vs 27.1%, p=0.05). BARC type ≥2 events did not differ between groups
5 (2.3%) vs 5 (2.3%). HPR rate was higher for prasugrel-treated patients (5.4% vs
0%, p<0.001). In conclusion, in patients with ACS undergoing PCI, ticagrelor MD produces
a significantly higher platelet inhibition compared to prasugrel MD. This pharmacodynamic
difference might be associated with more nuisance bleeding events with ticagrelor
use.
Clinical Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01774955.
Keywords
Ticagrelor - prasugrel - platelet aggregation - percutaneous coronary intervention