Downstream administration of a high-dose tirofiban bolus in high-risk patients with unstable angina undergoing early percutaneous coronary intervention

BackgroundThe best treatment option for high-risk patients with unstable coronary syndrome is an early invasive strategy accompanied by intensive anti-platelet therapy. We tested the effect on clinical outcome of early coronary angioplasty using a high-dose bolus of tirofiban in patients with non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndrome.MethodsOne hundred and forty consecutive patients with unstable coronary syndrome who underwent an immediate percutaneous coronary intervention with the administration of a high (25 μg/kg) dose bolus of tirofiban followed by an 18-h infusion of 0.15 μg kg−1 min−1 were compared with a matched control group of 162 patients treated with abciximab. The primary endpoint of the study was the 30-day incidence of major adverse cardiac events; the secondary endpoints were the incidence of major and minor bleeding.ResultsThe time from admission to PCI was slightly shorter in the tirofiban group (3.9 ± 4.8 vs. 4.5 ± 4.4 h; P = 0.26). The 30-day rate of major adverse cardiac events was similar in the two groups (6% with tirofiban and 8.6% with abciximab: OR = 1.37, 95% CI = 0.58–3.29, P = 0.52). No major bleeding episodes were observed; the incidence of minor bleeding was 3.6% in the tirofiban group and 2.5% in the abciximab group (OR = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.18–2.59, P = 0.74).ConclusionsIn this preliminary study, the beneficial effect of the administration of a high-dose tirofiban bolus on 30-day clinical outcomes was similar to that of abciximab in high-risk patients with unstable angina undergoing immediate percutaneous coronary intervention. The results of this therapeutic strategy should be tested in a larger randomised study.