Clinical Outcome between Ticagrelor versus Clopidogrel in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome and Diabetes

Background. The increased thrombotic risk in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and diabetes highlights the need for adequate antithrombotic protection. We aimed to compare the 6-month clinical outcomes between ticagrelor and clopidogrel in patients with ACS and diabetes. Methods and Results. The study was a single-center, prospective, randomized, open-label, blinded endpoint, and controlled registry trial. A total of 270 ACS patients with diabetes were randomly assigned in a 1 : 1 ratio to either the ticagrelor group or the clopidogrel group. Follow-up was performed for 6 months, and the data on efficacy outcomes and bleeding events were collected. At 6 months, complete follow-up data were available for 266 (98.5%) of 270 patients, and 4 were lost to follow-up. There was no significant difference in the survival rate of the effective endpoints between the ticagrelor group (n=133) and the clopidogrel group (n=133) (HR 0.83, 95% CI 0.44–1.56, p=0.561), but the incidence of bleeding events in the ticagrelor group was higher than that in the clopidogrel group (HR 1.76, 95% CI 1.00–3.10, p=0.049). Conclusion. Ticagrelor did not improve the composite of nonfatal MI, target vessel revascularization, rehospitalization, stroke, and death from any cause; however, it significantly increased the incidence of bleeding events defined by the Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) criteria in Chinese patients with ACS and diabetes during the 6-month follow-up compared with clopidogrel.