Long-term versus short-term dual antiplatelet therapy was similarly associated with a lower risk of death, stroke, or infarction in patients with acute coronary syndrome regardless of underlying kidney disease

Scarce and conflicting evidence exists on whether clopidogrel is effective and whether dual antiplatelet treatment (DAPT) is safe in patients with acute coronary syndrome and chronic kidney disease (CKD). To study this, we performed an observational, prospective, multicenter cohort study of 36,001 patients of the SWEDEHEART registry. The exposure was DAPT prolonged after 3 months versus DAPT stopped at 3 months in consecutive patients with acute coronary syndrome and known serum creatinine. DAPT duration with clopidogrel and aspirin was assessed by dispensed tablets. CKD stages were classified according to estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Study outcomes were 1) the composite of death, myocardial infarction, or ischemic stroke; 2) bleeding; or 3) the aggregate of these two outcomes within day 111 and 365 from discharge. A longer DAPT duration, as compared with 3-month DAPT, was associated with lower hazard ratios for outcome one in each CKD stratum (eGFR over 60, adjusted hazard ratio [95% confidence interval] 0.76 [0.67-0.85]; eGFR 60 and less, 0.84 [0.73-0.96], of which eGFR between 45 and 60, 0.85 [0.70-1.05], eGFR between 30 and 45, 0.78 [0.62-0.97]; eGFR 30 and less ml/min/1.73 m2, 0.93 [0.70-1.24]. Bleeding (outcome 2) was in general more common in the longer DAPT group of each aforementioned CKD stratum. Aggregated outcome analysis (outcome 3) similarly favored longer DAPT in each stratum. There was no interaction between DAPT duration and CKD strata for any of the study outcomes. Thus, a prolonged as compared with three-month DAPT was similarly associated with a lower risk of death, stroke, or reinfarction regardless of underlying CKD.