Clopidogrel Versus Newer P2Y12 Antagonists for Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients with Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Managed with Therapeutic Hypothermia: A Meta-Analysis

INTRODUCTION: The impact of therapeutic hypothermia (TH) on outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and the optimal antiplatelet treatment remains debatable. METHODS: Electronic databases were searched for randomized trials and observational studies to evaluate the available clinical evidence comparing the use of clopidogrel versus newer P2Y12 antagonists in cases of TH after PCI. The primary outcome was in-hospital definite stent thrombosis while the secondary outcomes were in-hospital mortality and major bleeding. Fixed-effects risk ratios (RRs) were estimated using Mantel-Haenszel method. RESULTS: The final analysis included five studies with a total of 290 patients. There was no difference in the incidence of stent thrombosis (RR 0.92; 95% CI 0.35-2.38), in-hospital mortality (RR 1.38; 95% CI 0.72-2.65), and major bleeding (RR 0.89; 95% CI 0.33-2.40) between patients receiving clopidogrel versus those receiving newer agents. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis showed no difference between clopidogrel and newer antiplatelet agents in the incidence of stent thrombosis or in-hospital mortality for PCI in cases of TH. Further randomized studies are needed to explore the optimal dual antiplatelet treatment in TH.