Abstract
Objective Premature discontinuation of antiplatelet therapy (APT) increases the risk of thrombosis in patients who have undergone placement of a drug-eluting stent for acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The goal of the present study was to identify predictors of patients who would prematurely discontinue APT following stent implantation.
Methods One-hundred and sixty-one ACS patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention in our institution between November 2004 and September 2008 were enrolled in this study.
Results Over the 12-month follow-up period, 18 patients (11.2%) discontinued APT. Among baseline demographic and laboratory variables, multivariate analysis revealed that mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) level was an independent risk factor for APT discontinuation (OR: 0.738, p=0.017). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the incidence of APT discontinuation was significantly higher in patients with low MCH (<30.0 pg) than in patients with high MCH (≥30.0 pg) (p=0.0006).
Conclusion Low baseline MCH level was a predictor of APT discontinuation in ACS patients. Thus, careful consideration should be made before employing a drug-eluting stent in patients with low MCH levels.
