Guideline versus clinician recommended duration of dual antiplatelet therapy following acute coronary syndrome (ANZACS-QI 78).

AIM

The recommended duration of dual anti-platelet therapy (DAPT) following acute coronary syndrome (ACS) for patients without atrial fibrillation varies from 1 month to 1 year depending on the balance of risks of ischaemia and major bleeding. Patients on DAPT with a high risk of gastrointestinal bleeding are also recommended to receive a proton pump inhibitor (PPI). Our aim was to audit current practice against the 2020 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guideline recommendations.

METHODS

One hundred consecutive ACS patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention discharged from Middlemore Hospital and without atrial fibrillation in the first quarter of 2023 were studied. ANZACS-QI ischaemic (I) and bleeding (B) risk scores were calculated, with patients categorised in four groups based on ESC recommendations-low I/low B risk, low I/high B, high I/low B and high I/high B. Guideline and clinician recommended duration of DAPT and prescription of PPI were compared.

RESULTS

All patients were planned for DAPT at discharge and 91% a PPI. Up to four out of five ACS patients could have been planned for shorter DAPT durations based on the ESC guideline recommendations. Over half of included patients (53%) had a high bleeding risk, yet 85% of these patients received 12 months of DAPT despite ESC recommendations of 1-3 months.

CONCLUSIONS

There was a divergence between clinical practice and the recommendations of the 2020 ESC guidelines. We discuss these results in relation to the updated August 2023 ESC guidelines, which have reaffirmed a 12-month duration of DAPT as the default position.