Abbreviated Infusion of Eptifibatide After Successful Coronary Intervention: The BRIEF-PCI (Brief Infusion of Eptifibatide Following Percutaneous Coronary Intervention) Randomized Trial

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess whether the early discontinuation of eptifibatide infusion in nonemergent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is associated with a higher frequency of periprocedural ischemic myonecrosis. The recommended regimen for eptifibatide is a double bolus followed by an infusion for 18 h. It is not known whether the infusion can be shortened if the PCI is uncomplicated. We enrolled 624 patients with stable angina, acute coronary syndrome, or recent ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (>48 h) who underwent successful coronary stenting and received eptifibatide. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either an 18-h infusion or an abbreviated infusion of <2 h. The primary end point was the incidence of periprocedural myonecrosis defined as troponin-I elevation >0.26 microg/l. Secondary end points included death, myocardial infarction, urgent target vessel revascularization at 30 days, and in-hospital major bleeding using the REPLACE-2 (Randomized Evaluation in PCI Linking Angiomax to Reduced Clinical Events) trial criteria. The incidence of periprocedural myonecrosis was 30.1% in the <2-h group versus 28.3% in the 18-h group (mean difference: 1.8%; upper bound of 95% confidence interval: 7.8%; p < 0.012 for noninferiority). The 30-day incidence of myocardial infarction, death, and target vessel revascularization was similar in both groups (p = NS). Major bleeding was less frequent in the <2-h group (1.0% vs. 4.2%, p = 0.02). After uncomplicated PCI, eptifibatide infusion can be abbreviated safely to <2 h. It is not inferior to the standard 18-h infusion in preventing ischemic outcome, and it may be associated with less major bleeding. (Brief Infusion of Eptifibatide Following Percutaneous Coronary Intervention [BRIEF PCI]; NCT00111566).