Routine early eptifibatide versus delayed provisional use at percutaneous coronary intervention in high-risk non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes patients: an analysis from the Early Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa Inhibition in Non-ST-Segment Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome trial

Am Heart J. 2013 Sep;166(3):466-73. doi: 10.1016/j.ahj.2013.05.019. Epub 2013 Jul 25.

Abstract

Aims: In the EARLY ACS trial, routine early eptifibatide was not superior to delayed provisional use at percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI); however, among PCI-treated patients, numerically fewer ischemic end points occurred in the upstream eptifibatide group. We sought to further explore this finding using methods for examination of treatment effect in this postrandomization subgroup.

Methods and results: Of 9,406 patients in the EARLY ACS primary analysis cohort, 9,166 (97.4%) underwent coronary angiography. We used Cox proportional hazards regression modeling, with PCI as a time-dependent covariate, to examine the effect of routine early versus delayed provisional eptifibatide among 5,541 patients undergoing PCI and to explore the interaction between treatment with PCI and randomized treatment strategy. After multivariable adjustment, compared with delayed provisional use, routine early eptifibatide was associated with lower rate of 30-day death or myocardial infarction (MI) after PCI (hazard ratio [HR] 0.80, 95% CI 0.68-0.95) but not with medical management (HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.74-1.29); PCI × randomized treatment interaction term P = .24. Excluding PCI-related MI, the adjusted HR for 30-day death or MI for routine early eptifibatide versus delayed provisional use was 0.80 (95% CI 0.60-1.08) for post-PCI treatment and 1.01 (95% CI 0.79-1.34) for medical management; PCI × randomized treatment interaction term P = .28.

Conclusions: Consistent with previous literature, upstream treatment with eptifibatide was associated with improved outcomes in high-risk non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome patients treated with PCI; however, a nonsignificant interaction term precludes a definite conclusion.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00089895.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acute Coronary Syndrome / drug therapy
  • Acute Coronary Syndrome / mortality
  • Acute Coronary Syndrome / therapy*
  • Aged
  • Eptifibatide
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Myocardial Infarction / epidemiology
  • Myocardial Infarction / etiology*
  • Peptides / administration & dosage*
  • Percutaneous Coronary Intervention*
  • Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / administration & dosage*
  • Platelet Glycoprotein GPIIb-IIIa Complex / administration & dosage*
  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • Risk
  • Time Factors
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Peptides
  • Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors
  • Platelet Glycoprotein GPIIb-IIIa Complex
  • Eptifibatide

Associated data

  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT00089895