Early aspirin withdrawal versus dual antiplatelet therapy in high-risk patients after percutaneous coronary intervention: Meta-analysis of randomized trials

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Source: PLOS Medicine

Original: https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1004995...

Published: 2026-03-26T14:00:00Z

A meta-analysis of seven randomized trials with a total of 27,743 patients investigated whether it is safe to discontinue aspirin within 3 months after percutaneous coronary intervention (PKI) and continue with only one drug from the P2Y12 inhibitor class (ticagrelor or prasugrel). Discontinuation of aspirin reduced the risk of clinically relevant bleeding (HR = 0.55) without a significant increase in myocardial infarction in the overall population (HR = 1.11). However, immediate withdrawal of aspirin (without its administration or interruption in hospital) increased the risk of myocardial infarction (HR = 1.41), whereas early withdrawal after discharge within 3 months did not increase this risk (HR = 0.97). The results were also confirmed in the subgroup of patients with acute coronary syndrome. The study recommends an individualized approach: in patients with a high risk of bleeding, aspirin can be stopped within 1 month with a high probability of benefit, while in patients with a high ischemic risk it is safer to stop aspirin after 3 months. Immediate non-use or discontinuation of aspirin should be avoided.