We proposed to assess the risks and benefits of prolonged clopidogrel therapy (>12 months) versus <12 months among Veterans following percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) with coronary stenting. Our primary aim is to assess the risk of death or myocardial infarction by type of coronary stent (bare-metal stents, 1st generation drug-eluting stents, and 2nd generation drug-eluting stents. We will use VA administrative and clinical databases to create two cohorts of patients receiving bare-metal and 1st generation drug-eluting stents between 2002-2007, and a second more contemporary cohort of patients receiving 2nd generation drug-eluting stents between 2008- 2010. Our data will be derived from the VA National Patient Care Database, which contains information on inpatient and outpatient details from the Patient Treatment Files (PTF) and Outpatient Clinic (OPC) files. Demographic data will be obtained from the VHA Vital Status file. Pharmacy data will be obtained from the Pharmacy Benefits Management system files, including medication prescriptions to estimate duration of therapy. In the 2008-2010 cohort we will also obtain data on procedural characteristics (e.g. stent length, diameter, number of stents, artery stented) as covariables from the VA Cardiovascular Assessment Reporting and Tracking (CART) database. For each stent type, we will use a landmark analysis strategy and Cox's proportional hazards regression to assess the risk of death or myocardial infarction in patients receiving prolonged clopidogrel >12 months versus <12 months treatment. We will also evaluate the risk of prolonged clopidogrel therapy on the secondary endpoints of cardiac death, ischemic stroke, coronary revascularization with PCI or coronary artery bypass surgery, and major bleeding. As secondary aims, we will evaluate the interaction of prolonged clopidogrel and type of drug-eluting stent (1st or 2nd generation) by combining both cohorts. Using the same method, we will assess the risk of prolonged clopidogrel in subgroups of patients on chronic anticoagulation for other indications (e.g. atrial fibrillation). To evaluate potential data limitations we will perform chart reviews in a subsample of the cohorts to validate several key covariates, such as aspirin adherence. We will also evaluate the potential impact of confounding and confounding by indication by three methods: 1. Traditional multivariable adjustment, 2. Propensity score adjusted and matched analysis, 3. Restriction of the cohorts to patients with low risk characteristics. We will also conduct sensitivity analyses to assess the impact of missing covariate data. Exploratory analyses will evaluate the risks and benefits of more prolonged clopidogrel therapy beyond the landmarks of 18 months, 24 months and 36 months after PCI. The proposed research will provide valuable information to bridge the current information gap in the cardiology community regarding the risks and benefits of prolonged clopidogrel therapy in Veterans receiving coronary stents. These data may also inform future randomized trials to address the value of prolonged clopidogrel therapy.

Public Health Relevance

Coronary stents are frequently used to treat coronary artery disease in Veterans. In 2010, 11,188 Veterans had 12,600 coronary stent procedures in the 76 VA cardiac cath labs nationwide. Coronary stents revolutionized the treatment of coronary disease, but are associated with late complications related to stent thrombosis, restenosis, and disease elsewhere. These can cause adverse ischemic events, including myocardial infarction, death, repeat coronary stents or bypass surgery. Many ischemic events are prevented by clopidogrel, a potent anti-platelet medication, which is currently recommended for one year after stenting. Although prolonging clopidogrel beyond a year may reduce ischemic events, it may also increase major bleeding. This proposal will assess these risks in Veterans receiving prolonged versus <12 months clopidogrel after stenting to evaluate its potential clinical value in Veterans.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Veterans Affairs (VA)
Type
Non-HHS Research Projects (I01)
Project #
5I01CX000440-03
Application #
8590191
Study Section
Epidemiology (EPID)
Project Start
2011-10-01
Project End
2014-09-30
Budget Start
2013-10-01
Budget End
2014-09-30
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
VA Boston Health Care System
Department
Type
DUNS #
034432265
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02130
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Sawlani, Neal N; Kinlay, Scott (2017) Claudication: Pay for Structured Exercise or Go Take a Hike. JACC Cardiovasc Interv 10:725-727
Gerhard-Herman, Marie D; Gornik, Heather L; Barrett, Coletta et al. (2017) 2016 AHA/ACC Guideline on the Management of Patients With Lower Extremity Peripheral Artery Disease: Executive Summary: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines. Circulation 135:e686-e725
Kinlay, Scott; Michel, Thomas; Leopold, Jane A (2016) The Future of Vascular Biology and Medicine. Circulation 133:2603-9
Kinlay, Scott (2016) Management of Critical Limb Ischemia. Circ Cardiovasc Interv 9:e001946
Kinlay, Scott (2015) Does this study make my aorta look fat? Circulation 132:1600-1
Siddiqi, Omar K; Smoot, Kyle J; Dufour, Alyssa B et al. (2015) Outcomes with prolonged clopidogrel therapy after coronary stenting in patients with chronic kidney disease. Heart 101:1569-76
Thukkani, Arun K; Agrawal, Kush; Prince, Lillian et al. (2015) Long-Term Outcomes in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus Related to Prolonging Clopidogrel More Than 12 Months After Coronary Stenting. J Am Coll Cardiol 66:1091-101
Thukkani, Arun K; Kinlay, Scott (2015) Endovascular intervention for peripheral artery disease. Circ Res 116:1599-613

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