Clinical outcomes with the use of ticagrelor or clopidogrel after fibrinolytic therapy in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction – A prospective observational study

Background: Thrombolytic therapy in the appropriate window period remains the most commonly used therapy in ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients, despite the advantage of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) over it. Use of newer more potent antiplatelets agents early after thrombolysis carries the chance of increasing bleeding complications, thus we planned to have a study to assess the safety and efficacy of ticagrelor as compared to clopidogrel in thrombolysed patients. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective observational study in Indian patients. A total of 142 patients were enrolled in the study with 76 in the ticagrelor group and 66 in the clopidogrel group. All patients received thrombolysis as the primary reperfusion strategy. Patients receiving either clopidogrel or ticagrelor after thrombolysis irrespective of the subsequent PCI status were followed up for any bleeding events (primary endpoints) as per thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) definition and Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) definition. Major adverse cardiac events (MACE) including death from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction (MI), and stroke were also assessed as markers of efficacy and secondary endpoints. Results: Mean time from thrombolysis to study drug use was 18.9 ± 2.1 h in the ticagrelor group as compared to 14.8 ± 3.3 h in the clopidogrel group (P > 0.05). For major bleeding events (TIMI major), no statistically significant difference was observed between groups (2.6% in ticagrelor vs. 1.5% in clopidogrel) (P = 0.6). BARC 3–5 bleeding at 1-month follow-up was significantly higher in the ticagrelor group compared to the clopidogrel group (P = 0.04). At 1-month follow-up, BARC 1–2 or 3–5 bleeding events in the subjects who underwent PCI were higher in the ticagrelor group than the clopidogrel group (P = 0.03). Patients in the clopidogrel group have more major adverse cardiac events than the ticagrelor group especially driven by more fatal and nonfatal MI in the clopidogrel group (P = 0.04). Conclusions: Ticagrelor can be safely administered in postthrombolytic patients similar to clopidogrel albeit at the cost of slightly increased minor bleeding events in short-term follow-up.