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Efficacy and Safety of Low-Dose Prasugrel Versus Clopidogrel in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome or Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis


 Purpose

To assess the efficacy and safety of prasugrel at low doses compared to clopidogrel by looking at the occurrence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) and major bleeding in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) or undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
Methods

We searched PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and ClinicalTrials.gov for eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies assessing efficacy and safety of low-dose prasugrel versus clopidogrel in patients with ACS or undergoing PCI up to May 22, 2020. We did a meta-analysis using a random-effects model to estimate relative risks (RRs). The primary efficacy and safety endpoints were MACE and major bleeding, respectively.
Results

Six RCTs (n = 6,131) and six observational studies (n = 31,426) were included. There was no MACE reduction in patients receiving low-dose prasugrel compared with those receiving clopidogrel (RR 1.02, 95%CI 0.91 to 1.14), but there was an increased risk of major bleeding (RR 1.35, 95%CI 1.10 to 1.67).
Conclusions

Low-dose prasugrel yields no increase in efficacy when compared with clopidogrel, but it does expose patients to an increased risk of bleeding. Most studies considered here were conducted in Japan. Studies conducted with non-Asian patients may find that low-dose prasugrel offers a more favorable efficacy and risk profile. Considering the results of this analysis we believe low-dose prasugrel should be prescribed with extreme caution as it may result in bleeding events without any additional benefit over clopidogrel.