Current strategies with eptifibatide and other antiplatelet agents in percutaneous coronary intervention and acute coronary syndromes

Antiplatelet and anticoagulation therapies are essential for the prevention of thromboembolic-induced myocardial ischaemia in non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes and the ischaemic complications of percutaneous coronary intervention. Although heparin, direct thrombin inhibitors and oral platelet activation inhibitors provide substantial benefit, only glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa inhibitors block the final common pathway leading to platelet aggregation, and the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines recommend GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors as an integral component of care in these patients. Abciximab, eptifibatide and tirofiban all act through the GP IIb/IIIa receptor; however, variations in clinical outcomes among patients receiving these agents may be related to their structural and pharmacological differences, as well as to patient demographics. Data indicate that eptifibatide, at the current recommended dosing schedule, achieves the highest level of consistent platelet inhibition compared with current doses of abciximab and tirofiban.