Diabetes Mellitus and Acute Coronary Syndrome: A Lethal Combination Requiring Better Therapeutic Strategies

Cardiovascular Outcomes Observed with Ticagrelor versus Clopidogrel in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome: A Meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is often associated with macrovascular complications including cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), resulting in acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Newer potent antiplatelet agents have recently been approved for use in clinical practice. In this analysis, we aimed to systematically compare the cardiovascular outcomes observed with ticagrelor versus clopidogrel in T2DM patients with ACS.

METHODS

From August to September 2022, electronic databases were searched for publications that compared cardiovascular outcomes observed with ticagrelor versus clopidogrel in patients with T2DM. The statistical analysis was carried out using RevMan 5.4 software. A random effect statistical model was used to analyze the data. Risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to represent the data post analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 5868 participants with T2DM were included in this analysis, of which 1944 participants were assigned to the ticagrelor group and 3924 participants were assigned to the clopidogrel group. Our analysis showed that ticagrelor was associated with a significantly lower risk of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) (RR: 0.64, 95% CI: 0.49-0.84; P = 0.001), all-cause mortality (RR: 0.65, 95% CI: 0.51-0.83; P = 0.0004), and cardiac death (RR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.43-0.84; P = 0.003) in comparison to clopidogrel. However, the risks of repeated revascularization (RR: 1.48, 95% CI: 0.44-4.99; P = 0.53), stent thrombosis (RR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.18-2.71; P = 0.60), reinfarction (RR: 0.85, 95% CI: 0.58-1.23; P = 0.39), and stroke (RR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.14-2.21; P = 0.41) were similar. Ticagrelor was associated with a significantly higher risk of minor bleeding (RR: 1.53, 95% CI: 1.07-2.19; P = 0.02), whereas the risk for major bleeding (RR: 1.08, 95% CI: 0.55-2.10; P = 0.82) was not significantly different.

CONCLUSIONS

In these T2DM patients with ACS, a significantly lower risk of major adverse cardiovascular events including all-cause mortality was observed in the ticagrelor group compared with the clopidogrel group. However, T2DM patients who were assigned to ticagrelor showed a significantly higher minor bleeding risk. Larger clinical trials should be able to confirm these hypotheses.

Prognostic value of serum calprotectin level in elderly diabetic patients with acute coronary syndrome undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: A Cohort study

Patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) have an increased serum level of calprotectin. The purpose of present study was to analyze the prognostic significance of serum calprotectin levels in elderly diabetic patients underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) due to ACS.A total of 273 consecutive elderly diabetic patients underwent PCI for primary ACS were enrolled. Serum calprotectin levels were measured before PCI, and baseline clinical characteristics of all patients were collected. All patients were followed up at regular interval for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) during 1 year after PCI. MACEs include cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and target vessel revascularization (TVR). The predicting value of serum calprotectin for MACEs was analyzed by using univariate and multivariate analysis and receiver-operating characteristic curve (ROC).At the endpoint of this study, 47 patients of all 273 patients had MACEs. According to optimal cutoff value of calprotectin for predicting MACEs by ROC analysis, all patients were stratified into a high calprotectin group and a low calprotectin group. The incidence rate of MACEs and TVR in high calprotectin group was prominently higher than that in low calprotectin group (21.9% vs 11.5%, P = .02). In multivariable COX regression analysis adjusting for potential confounders, serum calprotectin level remains as an independent risk predictor of MACE (hazard ratio, 1.56; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.08-4.62; P = .01).In diabetic patients with a comorbidity of ACS, a high serum level of calprotectin is associated to a higher MACE rate after PCI.

Serum Calprotectin Levels and Outcome Following Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients with Diabetes and Acute Coronary Syndrome

Background

A retrospective study of data from a prospective clinical registry was conducted to evaluate the prognostic role of serum calprotectin in patients with diabetes who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Material/Methods

Data were retrieved for 273 patients with diabetes mellitus who underwent PCI for primary ACS in a single center. Serum calprotectin levels were measured before PCI. Baseline clinical data included the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) risk score for ACS. All patients underwent regular follow-up for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) during 12 months after PCI, including target vessel revascularization (TVR), defined as the need for an unplanned repeat PCI or coronary artery procedure. The predictive value of serum calprotectin for MACE was analyzed by using univariate and multivariate analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.

Results

At the final follow-up, 47 of the 273 patients studies experienced MACE. Optimal cutoff values for serum calprotectin levels predictive for MACE stratified patients into a high calprotectin group and a low calprotectin group. The incidence of MACE and TVR in the high calprotectin group was significantly greater than in the low calprotectin group (21.9% vs. 11.5%; P=0.02). Multivariate analysis, adjusted for confounders, showed that the serum level of calprotectin was an independent risk factor for MACE (HR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.08–4.62; P=0.01).

Conclusions

In patients with diabetes and the co-morbidity of ACS, a high serum level of calprotectin was associated with a significantly increased risk for MACE following PCI.