Efficacy and Safety of Low-dose Ticagrelor

Efficacy and Safety of Different Ticagrelor Regimens Versus Clopidogrel in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease: a Retrospective Multicenter Study (SUPERIOR)

Guideline recommendations on the use of dual antiplatelet therapy have been formulated that ticagrelor 90 mg twice daily plus aspirin in preference to clopidogrel 75mg daily plus aspirin for ACS patients. Recent study found that ticagrelor 90mg twice a day orally could significantly reduce the occurrence of clopidogrel resistance and adverse cardiovascular events. The previous studies have reported that half-dose ticagrelor had the similar inhibitory effect on platelet aggregation as the standard-dose ticagrelor, which was significantly stronger than that in the clopidogrel group. One-quarter standard-dose ticagrelor provided greater degree of platelet inhibition than standard dose clopidogrel in Chinese patients with stable CAD. But large-scale clinical trials are still needed to confirm the effects of low-dose ticagrelor on platelet function in Chinese patients with coronary heart disease.

Dual Antiplatelet Therapy (DAPT) with aspirin and P2Y12 receptor inhibitor remains a cornerstone in the secondary prevention of coronary artery disease (CAD). Clopidogrel is one of the most commonly used antithrombotic agent that inhibits the platelet P2Y(12) adenosine diphosphate (ADP) receptor.

Ticagrelor is an oral, reversibly-binding, direct-acting P2Y12 receptor antagonist used clinically for the prevention of atherothrombotic events in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Guideline recommendations on the use of dual antiplatelet therapy have been formulated that ticagrelor 90 mg twice daily plus aspirin in preference to clopidogrel 75mg daily plus aspirin for ACS patients. Recent study found that ticagrelor 90mg twice a day orally could significantly reduce the occurrence of clopidogrel resistance and adverse cardiovascular events. The previous studies have reported that half-dose ticagrelor had the similar inhibitory effect on platelet aggregation as the standard-dose ticagrelor, which was significantly stronger than that in the clopidogrel group. One-quarter standard-dose ticagrelor provided greater degree of platelet inhibition than standard dose clopidogrel in Chinese patients with stable CAD. But large-scale clinical trials are still needed to confirm the effects of low-dose ticagrelor on platelet function in Chinese patients with coronary heart disease.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients with coronary artery disease

Exclusion Criteria:

• younger than 18 years of age;
• anti-platelet therapy with clopidogrel or ticagrelor for less than 5 days;
• previous or current treatment with any other potentially confounding drugs.