Ticagrelor vs. clopidogrel in bivalirudin-treated patients with STEMI undergoing primary PCI: The BRIGHT-4 trial.

Background and aims: The optimal antiplatelet agent regimen in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) with bivalirudin anticoagulation is uncertain. This analysis sought to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ticagrelor compared with clopidogrel in patients with STEMI treated with PPCI with radial artery access and bivalirudin anticoagulation.

Methods: This post-hoc analysis compared bivalirudin plus ticagrelor with bivalirudin plus clopidogrel in 3009 BRIGHT-4 patients that were treated with PPCI. The primary endpoint was all-cause death or Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) types 3-5 bleeding occurring within 30 days.

Results: The 30-day all-cause death or BARC types 3-5 bleeding occurred in 2.0 % of patients treated with ticagrelor vs. 3.9 % of patients treated with clopidogrel (HR 0.51, 95 % CI 0.29 to 0.89; P = 0.02), driven by a reduction in all-cause death with ticagrelor (1.9 % vs. 3.7 %; P = 0.02) with no difference in BARC types 3-5 bleeding (0.1 % vs. 0.3 %; P = 0.34), although BARC type 2 bleeding was increased with ticagrelor (2.7 % vs. 1.2 %; P = 0.02). There was no significant difference between two groups in risk of stent thrombosis and composite of all-cause death, recurrent myocardial infarction, ischemia-driven target vessel revascularization, or stroke.

Conclusions: Among patients with STEMI treated with PPCI, the risk of the composite of all-cause mortality and BARC types 3-5 bleeding at 30 days was lower with ticagrelor than with clopidogrel on a background of bivalirudin, without an increase in stent thrombosis and major bleedings.