Clopidogrel Versus Ticagrelor for Antiplatelet Maintenance in Diabetic Patients Treated With Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

A large proportion of patients with coronary artery disease treated with elective percutaneous coronary intervention have high residual platelet reactivity1 and endothelial dysfunction, which might represent the link to the occurrence of ischemic events.2 This is even more the case for patients with diabetes mellitus, in whom more potent P2Y12 receptor inhibitors have been proposed with promising results in terms of reduced platelet reactivity.3 Nevertheless, whether this enhanced platelet inhibition alsomight be beneficial to the endothelial function is yet unknown.CLOTILDIA (Clopidogrel High Dose Versus Ticagrelor for Antiplatelet Maintenance in Diabetic Patients)4 was a single-center, prospective, randomized, open label, crossover study, enrolling patients with type2 diabetes mellitus and stable coronary artery disease treated with percutaneous coronary intervention and drug-eluting stent implantation. Patients were recruited at least 1month after percutaneous coronary intervention (3.8±2.1 months), while they were still on dual-antiplatelet therapy with aspirin (100 mg/d) and clopidogrel (75 mg/d). At study entry (T0), with the use ofa computer-based randomization system, patients were assigned randomlyto receive either 90 mg ticagrelor twice daily or clopidogrel 150 mg once daily for 14 …