Background Platelet-mediated thrombosis has been implicated in the development of ischaemic complications of percutaneous coronary intervention. We investigated whether inhibition of the platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa integrin with eptifibatide (Integrilin) could prevent such complications.Methods We undertook a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial at 82 centres in the USA, enrolling 4010 patients undergoing elective, urgent, or emergency coronary intervention. Patients were assigned one of three treatments: placebo (n=1328), a bolus of 135 mu g/kg eptifibatide followed by an infusion of 0.5 mu g kg(-1) min(-1) for 20-24 h (n=1349), or 135 mu g/kg eptifibatide bolus with a 0.75 mu g kg(-1) min(-1) infusion (n=1333). The coronary procedure was started within 10-60 min of the start of study treatment. The primary endpoint. was the 30-day composite occurrence of death, myocardial infarction, unplanned surgical or repeat percutaneous revascularisation, or coronary stent implantation for abrupt closure (by intention to treat). The primary safety endpoint was major bleeding.Findings By 30 days, the composite endpoint had occurred in 151 (11.4%) patients in the placebo group compared with 124 (9.2%) in the 135/0.5 eptifibatide group (p=0.063) and 132 (9.9%) in the eptifibatide 135/0.75 group (p=0.22). By treatment-received analysis, the 135/0.5 regimen produced a significant reduction in the composite endpoint (11.6 vs 9.1%, p=0.035), but the 135/0.75 regimen produced a less substantial reduction (11.6 vs 10.0%, p=0.18). Eptifibatide treatment did not increase rates of major bleeding or transfusion.Interpretation In the 135/0.5 group, treatment with eptifibatide during coronary intervention reduced rates of early abrupt closure and ischaemic events at 30 days. Non-significant, differences were seen with the 135/0.75 regimen. The doses studied thus appear to be at the low end of the efficacy-response curve. Further investigation to refine eptifibatide dosing during coronary intervention is warranted.

Background Blockade of the platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor with abciximab (a monoclonal-antibody Fab fragment directed against the receptor) has been shown to diminish ischemic complications among patients undergoing high-risk coronary angioplasty or atherectomy but increases bleeding complications. The widespread applicability of this treatment is unknown, particularly in view of the observed risk of hemorrhage.Methods In a prospective, double-blind trial, we randomly assigned patients undergoing urgent or elective percutaneous coronary revascularization at 69 centers to receive abciximab with standard-dose, weight-adjusted heparin (initial bolus of 100 U per kilogram of body weight); abciximab with low-dose, weight-adjusted heparin (initial bolus of 70 U per kilogram); or placebo with standard-dose, weight-adjusted heparin. The primary efficacy end point was death from any cause, myocardial infarction, or urgent revascularization within 30 days of randomization.Results The trial was terminated at the first interim analysis, with 2792 of the planned 4800 patients enrolled. At 30 days, the composite event rate was 11.7 percent in the group assigned to placebo with standard-dose heparin; 5.2 percent in the group assigned to abciximab with low-dose heparin (hazard ratio, 0.43; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.30 to 0.60; P<0.001); and 5.4 percent in the group as signed to abciximab with standard-dose heparin (hazard ratio, 0.45; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.32 to 0.63; P<0.001). There were no significant differences among the groups in the risk of major bleeding, although minor bleeding was more frequent among patients receiving abciximab with standard-dose heparin.Conclusions Inhibition of the platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor with abciximab, together with low-dose, weight-adjusted heparin, markedly reduces the risk of acute ischemic complications in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary revascularization. (C) 1997, Massachusetts Medical Society.

Background. Platelets are believed to play a part in the ischemic complications of coronary angioplasty, such as abrupt closure of the coronary vessel during or soon after the procedure. Accordingly, we evaluated the effect of a chimeric monoclonal-antibody Fab fragment (c7E3 Fab) directed against the platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor, in patients undergoing angioplasty who were at high risk for ischemic complications. This receptor is the final common pathway for platelet aggregation.Methods. In a prospective, randomized, double-blind trial, 2099 patients treated at 56 centers received a bolus and an infusion of placebo, a bolus of c7E3 Fab and an infusion of placebo, or a bolus and an infusion of c7E3 Fab. They were scheduled to undergo coronary angioplasty or atherectomy in high-risk clinical situations involving severe unstable angina, evolving acute myocardial infarction, or high-risk coronary morphologic characteristics. The primary study end point consisted of any of the following: death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, unplanned surgical revascularization, unplanned repeat percutaneous procedure, unplanned implantation of a coronary stent, or insertion of an intraaortic balloon pump for refractory ischemia. The numbers of end-point events were tabulated for 30 days after randomization.Results. As compared with placebo, the c7E3 Fab bolus and infusion resulted in a 35 percent reduction in the rate of the primary end point (12.8 vs. 8.3 percent, P = 0.008), whereas a 10 percent reduction was observed with the c7E3 Fab bolus alone (12.8 vs. 11.5 percent, P = 0.43). The reduction in the number of events with the c7E3 Fab bolus and infusion was consistent across the end points of unplanned revascularization procedures and nonfatal myocardial infarction. Bleeding episodes and transfusions were more frequent in the group given the c7E3 Fab bolus and infusion than in the other two groups.Conclusions. Ischemic complications of coronary angioplasty and atherectomy were reduced with a monoclonal antibody directed against the platelet IIb/IIIa glycoprotein receptor, although the risk of bleeding was increased.

BACKGROUND:Experimental and observational clinical studies of acute coronary occlusion have suggested that late reperfusion prevents infarct expansion and facilitates myocardial healing. The purpose of this trial was to assess whether infarct vessel patency could be achieved in late-entry patients and what benefit, if any, can be demonstrated.METHODS AND RESULTS:In a double-blind fashion, 197 patients with 6 to 24 hours of symptoms and ECG ST elevation were randomly assigned to tissue-type plasminogen activator (100 mg over 2 hours) or placebo. Coronary angiography within 24 hours was used to determine infarct vessel patency status. Patients with infarct-related occluded arteries were then eligible for a second randomization to either angioplasty (34 patients) or no angioplasty (37 patients). Ventricular function and cavity size were reassessed at 1 month by gated blood pool scintigraphy and at 6 months by repeat cardiac catheterization. The primary end point, infarct vessel patency, was 65% for plasminogen activator patients compared with 27% in the placebo group (p less than 0.0001). There were no differences between these groups in ejection fraction or infarct zone regional wall motion at 1 or 6 months. At 6 months, infarct vessel patency was 59% in both groups. In the placebo group, there was a significant increase in end-diastolic volume from acute phase of 127 ml to 159 ml at 6-month follow-up (p = 0.006) but no increase in cavity size for the plasminogen activator group patients. Coronary angioplasty was associated with an initial 81% recanalization success and improved ventricular function at 1 month, but by late follow-up no advantage could be demonstrated for this procedure, and there was a 38% spontaneous recanalization rate in the patients assigned to no angioplasty.CONCLUSIONS:The study demonstrates that it is possible to achieve infarct vessel recanalization in the majority of late-entry patients with either thrombolytic therapy or angioplasty. Thrombolytic intervention had a favorable effect on prevention of cavity dilatation and left ventricular remodeling, but there are no late benefits on systolic function after thrombolysis or coronary angioplasty. The conclusions concerning overall potential benefit of applying late reperfusion therapy will require data from large-scale trials designed to assess mortality reduction.