Clinical outcomes of antithrombotic strategies for patients with atrial fibrillation after percutaneous coronary intervention evidence from a network meta-analysis

Abstract

Antithrombotic strategies for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) remain challenging. This study aims to explore the best antithrombotic strategy for AF patients after PCI based on a network meta-analysis. This study was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42018093928). The PubMed, Cochrane, and EMBASE databases were searched to identify clinical trials concerning antithrombotic therapy for AF patients with PCI from inception to April 2018. Pairwise and network meta-analysis were conducted to compare clinical outcomes of different antithrombotic therapy. The primary endpoint was major bleeding. Fifteen studies including 16,382 patients were identified with follow-up ranging from 3 to 12 months. Non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (NOAC) plus P2Y12 inhibitor ranked first with a reduced risk of major bleeding compared with vitamin K antagonist (VKA) plus dual antiplatelet therapy (OR: 0.57, 95% CI: 0.43-0.75) but with no significant difference compared with VKA plus single platelet therapy (OR: 0.85, 95% CI: 0.62-1.16). Similar thrombotic events were evident among these groups. Subgroup analysis showed that VKA plus aspirin exhibited a similar risk of major bleeding compared with VKA plus clopidogrel (OR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.73-1.23) but was associated with increased risks of ischaemic stroke (OR: 2.10, 95% CI: 1.33-3.32) and all-cause death (OR: 1.77, 95% CI: 1.15-2.74) versus VKA plus clopidogrel. In AF patients undergoing PCI, NOAC plus P2Y12 inhibitor and VKA plus clopidogrel, but not VKA plus aspirin, were associated with reduced risk of major bleeding compared with the recommended VKA-based triple therapy, while thrombotic events were similar among these treatments.