Comparison of the effects of pretreatment with tirofiban, clopidogrel or both on the inhibition of platelet aggregation and activation in patients with acutecoronary syndromes

OBJECTIVE: We sought to compare platelet inhibition produced by three antiplatelet regimens. METHODS AND RESULTS: Sixty NSTE-ACS patients undergoing coronary angiography treated with aspirin and enoxaparin were randomised to receive tirofiban 0.4 microg/kg/min over 30 min plus 0.15 microg/kg/min over 24 h (A), clopidogrel 600 mg (B), clopidogrel 300 mg plus tirofiban (C); blood samples were taken at baseline and 2, 6 and 24 h after the drug administration, and were analyzed by light transmission aggregometry and flow cytometry. Treatment with clopidogrel 600 mg significantly reduced P-selectin expression in comparison with tirofiban alone at all time points (group B vs. A: P < 0.0001). However tirofiban inhibited platelet aggregation significantly more than clopidogrel 600 mg during the first 6 h (group A vs. B: P < 0.0001), and the addition of clopidogrel 300 mg did not inhibit platelet aggregation any more than tirofiban alone throughout the 24 h (group C vs. A: P = NS). All of the changes over time within each group were highly significant (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Tirofiban leads to greater early inhibition of platelet aggregation but less suppression of P-selectin expression than clopidogrel 600 mg. The addition of clopidogrel to tirofiban does not add any anti-aggregatory effect, but reduces P-selectin expression, thus likely adding a significant biological and clinical protective effect and providing a rationale for the combined use of the two drugs

Alcohol-related liver disease is rarely detected at early stages compared with liver diseases of other etiologies worldwide

© 2019 by the AGA InstituteBackground & aims: Despite recent advances in treatment of viral hepatitis, liver-related mortality is high, possibly owing to the large burden of advanced alcohol-related liver disease (ALD). We investigated whether patients with ALD are initially seen at later stages of disease development than patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection or other etiologies. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of 3453 consecutive patients with either early or advanced liver disease (1699 patients with early and 1754 with advanced liver disease) seen at 17 tertiary care liver or gastrointestinal units worldwide, from August 2015 through March 2017. We collected anthropometric, etiology, and clinical information, as well as and model for end-stage liver disease scores. We used unconditional logistic regression to estimate the odds ratios for evaluation at late stages of the disease progression. Results: Of the patients analyzed, 81% had 1 etiology of liver disease and 17% had 2 etiologies of liver disease. Of patients seen at early stages for a single etiology, 31% had HCV infection, 21% had hepatitis B virus infection, and 17% had nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, whereas only 3.8% had ALD. In contrast, 29% of patients seen for advanced disease had ALD. Patients with ALD were more likely to be seen at specialized centers, with advanced-stage disease, compared with patients with HCV-associated liver disease (odds ratio, 14.1; 95% CI, 10.5-18.9; P < .001). Of patients with 2 etiologies of liver disease, excess alcohol use was associated with 50% of cases. These patients had significantly more visits to health care providers, with more advanced disease, compared with patients without excess alcohol use. The mean model for end-stage liver disease score for patients with advanced ALD (score, 16) was higher than for patients with advanced liver disease not associated with excess alcohol use (score, 13) (P < .01). Conclusions: In a cross-sectional analysis of patients with liver disease worldwide, we found that patients with ALD are seen with more advanced-stage disease than patients with HCV-associated liver disease. Of patients with 2 etiologies of liver disease, excess alcohol use was associated with 50% of cases. Early detection and referral programs are needed for patients with ALD worldwide.This study was funded by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism grants U01AA021908 and U01AA020821, a scholarship grant from the Spanish Association for the Study of the Liver (M.V.-C.), and a grants NSFC 81570530 and 81370550 from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (L.Y.).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio