Acute procedural complications and in-hospital events after percutaneous coronary interventions: eptifibatide versus abciximab

Background: Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa antagonists reduce peri-angioplasty ischemic complications and improve in-hospital outcome in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI). Prior studies have demonstrated favorable results with both eptifibatide and abciximab. The purpose of this study was to assess whether there are any differences in rates of acute procedural complications and in-hospital events with the use of these two agents. Methods: A retrospective review of 359 elective PCIs from June 1998 to August 2000 identified 152 PCIs treated with eptifibatide (bolus 180 μg/kg, infusion 2 μg/kg/min for 12–48 h) and 205 PCIs treated with abciximab (bolus 0.25 mg/kg, infusion 10 μg/min for 12 h). All patients received IIb/IIIa antagonists at the initiation of the intervention. Results: The clinical demographics, the angiographic morphology, the indications, and the procedural details were similar in both groups. In the eptifibatide group, the maximum ACT was lower (235±45 vs. 253±40, P<.0001). The incidence of major procedural and in-hospital events was compared. Eptifibatide and abciximab had similar rates of major complications (death or myocardial infarction) (1.4% vs. 2.9%), repeat PTCA (3.4% vs. 1.9%), and major bleeding (3.3% vs. 4.3%). Conclusions: Eptifibatide is comparable to abciximab in regards to acute procedural complications and in-hospital events after PCI.