Cardiovascular and Bleeding Events of Ticagrelor Monotherapy after Short-term Dual Antiplatelet Therapy (DAPT) in Diabetics and Non-Diabetics Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Ticagrelor monotherapy after short-term (1-3 months) dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with aspirin and ticagrelor can reduce bleeding without increasing ischemic events after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, its effect in diabetic and non-diabetic individuals has not been evaluated as a meta-analysis so far.

This systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted covering PubMed, ISI Web of Science, and Scopus without date restrictions for English published clinical trials. The authors searched the mentioned databases, wherein the screening led to 151 studies, of which 40 were assessed for eligibility, and finally, three studies were included. These trials compared ticagrelor monotherapy after a short duration of aspirin plus ticagrelor with conventional 12 months DAPT.

The results showed that the risk of major bleeding (based on Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) type 3 or 5) for ticagrelor monotherapy subjects was lower in both diabetics and non-diabetics. It was especially significant in non-diabetic patients (HR 95%CI: 0.79(0.64, 0.98); p=0.029). In cardiovascular events assessment, the pooled estimate on cardiac deaths was significantly lower in diabetic subjects treated by ticagrelor monotherapy (HR 95%CI: 0.71(0.51, 1); p=0.05), while this reduction was not significant for non-diabetics (p=0.843) in comparison to patients treated by 12 months DAPT. However, there was no significant decrease or rise in myocardial infarction (MI) and ischemic stroke in patients treated by short-term DAPT strategy.

In conclusion, discontinuing aspirin after short-duration DAPT could minimize the incidence of cardiac death and BARC type 3 or 5 bleeding in diabetic and non-diabetic patients who underwent PCI, with no increase in MI and ischemic stroke.