Antiplatelet Therapy and Patency of Saphenous-Vein Bypass Grafts in the Legs

To the Editor: Becquemin (Dec. 11 issue) 1 reports the results of a randomized, prospective study demonstrating the improved patency of infrainguinal-vein bypass grafts in patients treated with the antiplatelet agent ticlopidine as compared with placebo. The data appear to demonstrate an important effect and to confirm a widely held belief that properly administered antiplatelet therapy promotes the patency of vascular reconstructions. Several factors, however, may limit widespread application of these findings. First, it should be noted that the patency rates in the placebo group were significantly inferior to those reported in single-institution studies at high-volume centers. In general, the current . . .