De-escalating Dual Antiplatelet Therapy to Ticagrelor Monotherapy in Acute Coronary Syndrome

The role of transitioning from short dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) to potent P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) undergoing drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation remains inconclusive. To compare the effects of de-escalating DAPT to ticagrelor monotherapy versus standard DAPT from randomized clinical trials in patients with ACS. PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and ClinicalTrials.gov from inception to 12 December 2024. Randomized clinical trials comparing de-escalating DAPT to ticagrelor monotherapy versus ticagrelor-based standard DAPT for 12 months, specifically in patients with ACS undergoing DES implantation. The coprimary end points were an ischemic end point (composite of death, nonprocedural [spontaneous] myocardial infarction, or stroke) and a bleeding end point (Bleeding Academic Research Consortium types 3 or 5 bleeding). Individual patient data were obtained from 3 trials (TICO [Ticagrelor Monotherapy After 3 Months in the Patients Treated With New Generation Sirolimus-Eluting Stent for Acute Coronary Syndrome], T-PASS [Ticagrelor Monotherapy in Patients Treated With New-Generation Drug-Eluting Stents for Acute Coronary Syndrome], and ULTIMATE-DAPT [Ticagrelor alone versus ticagrelor plus aspirin from month 1 to month 12 after percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with acute coronary syndromes]), including 9130 randomized patients with ACS; 3132 had ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), 3023 had non-STEMI (NSTEMI), and 2975 had unstable angina. The rate of the primary ischemic end point was not different between the ticagrelor monotherapy and standard DAPT groups (1.7% vs. 2.1%; hazard ratio [HR], 0.85 [95% CI, 0.63 to 1.16]). The rate of the primary bleeding end point was lower in the ticagrelor monotherapy group (0.8% vs. 2.5%; HR, 0.30 [CI, 0.21 to 0.45]). These findings were consistent in patients with STEMI, NSTEMI, and unstable angina. Other de-escalation strategies for modulating antiplatelet therapy were not included. In patients with ACS undergoing DES implantation, de-escalating DAPT to ticagrelor monotherapy was associated with a lower risk for major bleeding compared with standard DAPT, without an increase in ischemic events, regardless of the type of ACS. None. (PROSPERO: CRD42024565855).