Background - Although some randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and meta-analyses have suggested that prolonged dual-antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) may be associated with increased mortality, the mechanistic underpinnings of this association remain unclear.
Objectives - The aim of this study was to analyze the associations among bleeding, mortality, and DAPT duration after drug-eluting stent implantation in a meta-analysis of RCTs.
Methods - RCTs comparing different DAPT durations after drug-eluting stent placement were sought through the MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane databases and the proceedings of international meetings. Deaths were considered possibly bleeding related if occurring within 1 year of the episodes of bleeding. Primary analysis was by intention-to-treat. Secondary analysis was performed in a modified intention-to-treat population in which events occurring when all patients were on DAPT were excluded.
Results - Individual patient data were obtained for 6 RCTs, and aggregate data were available for 12 RCTs. Patients with bleeding had significantly higher rates of mortality compared with those without, and in a time-adjusted multivariate analysis, bleeding was an independent predictor of mortality occurring within 1 year of the bleeding episode (hazard ratio: 6.93; 95% confidence interval: 4.53 to 10.60; p < 0.0001). Shorter DAPT was associated with lower rates of all-cause death compared with longer DAPT (hazard ratio: 0.85; 95% confidence interval: 0.73 to 1.00; p = 0.05), which was driven by lower rates of bleeding-related deaths with shorter DAPT compared with prolonged DAPT (hazard ratio: 0.65; 95% confidence interval: 0.43 to 0.99; p = 0.04). Mortality unrelated to bleeding was comparable between the 2 groups. Similar results were apparent in the modified intention-to-treat population.
Conclusions - Bleeding was strongly associated with the occurrence of mortality within 1 year after the bleeding event. Shorter compared with longer DAPT was associated with lower risk for bleeding-related death, a finding that may underlie the lower all-cause mortality with shorter DAPT in the RCTs of different DAPT durations after DES.
