Perioperative management of oral antiplatelet therapy and clinical outcomes in coronary stent patients undergoing surgery Results of a multicentre registry

The aim was to investigate the perioperative risk of ischaemic and bleeding events in patients with coronary stents undergoing cardiac and non-cardiac surgery and how these outcomes are affected by the perioperative use of oral antiplatelet therapy. This was a multicentre, retrospective, observational study conducted in patients with coronary stent(s) undergoing cardiac or non-cardiac surgery. The primary efficacy endpoint was the 30-day incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE), defined as the composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke. The primary safety endpoint was the 30-day incidence of Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) bleeding >= 2. A total of 666 patients were included. Of these, 371 (55.7%) discontinued their antiplatelet medication(s) (all or partly) before undergoing surgery. At 30 days, patients with perioperative discontinuation of antiplatelet therapy experienced a significantly higher incidence of MACE (7.5% vs 0.3%, p<0.001), cardiac death (2.7% vs 0.3%, p=0.027), and MI (4.0% vs 0%, p<0.001). After adjustment, peri-operative antiplatelet discontinuation was the strongest independent predictor of 30-day MACE (odds ratio [OR]=25.8, confidence interval [CI]=3.37-198, p=0.002). Perioperative aspirin (adjusted OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.11-0.71, p=0.008) was significantly associated with a lower risk of MACE. The overall incidence of BARC >= 2 bleeding events at 30-days was significantly higher in patients who discontinued oral antiplatelet therapy (25.6% vs 13.9%, p<0.001). However, after adjustment, antiplatelet discontinuation was not independently associated with BARC >= 2 bleeding. In conclusion antiplatelet discontinuation increases the 30-day risk of MACE, in patients with coronary stents undergoing cardiac and non-cardiac surgery, while not offering significant protection from BARC >= 2 bleeding.