Standard- vs high-dose clopidogrel based on platelet function testing after percutaneous coronary intervention: the GRAVITAS randomized trial.

CONTEXT: High platelet reactivity while receiving clopidogrel has been linked to cardiovascular events after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), but a treatment strategy for this issue is not well defined.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of high-dose compared with standard-dose clopidogrel in patients with high on-treatment platelet reactivity after PCI.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS: Randomized, double-blind, active-control trial (Gauging Responsiveness with A VerifyNow assay-Impact on Thrombosis And Safety [GRAVITAS]) of 2214 patients with high on-treatment reactivity 12 to 24 hours after PCI with drug-eluting stents at 83 centers in North America between July 2008 and April 2010.

INTERVENTIONS: High-dose clopidogrel (600-mg initial dose, 150 mg daily thereafter) or standard-dose clopidogrel (no additional loading dose, 75 mg daily) for 6 months.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary end point was the 6-month incidence of death from cardiovascular causes, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or stent thrombosis. The key safety end point was severe or moderate bleeding according to the Global Utilization of Streptokinase and t-PA for Occluded Coronary Arteries (GUSTO) definition. A key pharmacodynamic end point was the rate of persistently high on-treatment reactivity at 30 days.

RESULTS: At 6 months, the primary end point had occurred in 25 of 1109 patients (2.3%) receiving high-dose clopidogrel compared with 25 of 1105 patients (2.3%) receiving standard-dose clopidogrel (hazard ratio [HR], 1.01; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.58-1.76; P = .97). Severe or moderate bleeding was not increased with the high-dose regimen (15 [1.4%] vs 25 [2.3%], HR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.31-1.11; P = .10). Compared with standard-dose clopidogrel, high-dose clopidogrel provided a 22% (95% CI, 18%-26%) absolute reduction in the rate of high on-treatment reactivity at 30 days (62%; 95% CI, 59%-65% vs 40%; 95% CI, 37%-43%; P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with high on-treatment reactivity after PCI with drug-eluting stents, the use of high-dose clopidogrel compared with standard-dose clopidogrel did not reduce the incidence of death from cardiovascular causes, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or stent thrombosis.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00645918.