Efficacy and safety outcomes of short duration antiplatelet therapy with early cessation of aspirin post percutaneous coronary intervention: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: The optimal duration of dual antiplatelet therapy is a matter of ongoing re-search. Clinical studies are assessing the optimal duration with the most favourable risk to benefit ratio. The efficacy of P2Y12 receptor inhibitors comparable to aspirin in preventing recurrent ischaemic events in patients with coronary artery diseases. Objectives: To investigate the outcomes of short-duration dual antiplatelet therapy after PCI with early discontinuation of aspirin while maintaining patients on P2Y12 inhibitor through systematic review and meta-analysis of available literature. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and ClinicalTrials.gov. We included randomized controlled studies that measured clinical outcomes of efficacy (mortality and ischaemic events) and safety (bleeding) of short and standard-duration dual antiplatelet therapy. The protocol of this study was registered in the interna-tional prospective register of systematic reviews PROSPERO registry (CRD42020171468). Results: Four randomized controlled trials were included; GLOBAL LEADERS, SMART-CHOICE, STOPDAPT-2, and TWILIGHT. The total number of patients was 29,089. The safety outcomes showed a significant reduction in major bleeding events with short-duration dual anti-platelet therapy; the risk ratio was 0.61 (95% CI 0.38-0.99; z=2,00, p=0.05). There was no differ-ence between short and standard-duration dual antiplatelet therapy regarding efficacy outcomes (al-l-cause death, major adverse cardiovascular events, myocardial infarction, stroke, and stent throm-bosis). Conclusion: Short-duration dual antiplatelet therapy followed by P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy after PCI is a feasible option and can be adopted, especially in patients with a high risk of bleeding.