The clinical and economic impact of bivalirudin for percutaneous coronary intervention

Expert Rev Pharmacoecon Outcomes Res. 2013 Dec;13(6):699-706. doi: 10.1586/14737167.2013.844650.

Abstract

Bivalirudin (BVR) is a direct thrombin inhibitor used as an adjunctive antithrombotic agent in combination with aspirin and an ADP-receptor blocker in patients with acute coronary syndrome undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. When compared to a strategy of heparin plus a glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor, BVR has been shown in a number of randomized clinical trials to be at least as effective at reducing ischemic endpoints and to have a consistently lower rate of bleeding complications. In addition, various economic analyses have shown it to be cost-effective compared to heparin plus a glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor and this, coupled with its proven clinical efficacy, has led to the incorporation of BVR into both EU and US clinical guidelines. Previous studies with BVR have mostly assessed its use in patients treated with aspirin and clopidogrel and further studies are ongoing to determine its role in combination with newer, more potent oral antiplatelet agents.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01519518.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Acute Coronary Syndrome / economics
  • Acute Coronary Syndrome / therapy*
  • Anticoagulants / adverse effects
  • Anticoagulants / economics
  • Anticoagulants / therapeutic use
  • Antithrombins / adverse effects
  • Antithrombins / economics
  • Antithrombins / therapeutic use
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis
  • Hemorrhage / chemically induced
  • Hemorrhage / epidemiology
  • Hirudins / adverse effects
  • Hirudins / economics
  • Humans
  • Peptide Fragments / adverse effects
  • Peptide Fragments / economics
  • Peptide Fragments / therapeutic use*
  • Percutaneous Coronary Intervention / methods*
  • Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / adverse effects
  • Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / economics
  • Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / therapeutic use
  • Practice Guidelines as Topic
  • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
  • Recombinant Proteins / adverse effects
  • Recombinant Proteins / economics
  • Recombinant Proteins / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Anticoagulants
  • Antithrombins
  • Hirudins
  • Peptide Fragments
  • Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • bivalirudin

Associated data

  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT01519518