Triple vs Dual Antithrombotic Therapy in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation and Coronary Artery Disease

Triple vs Dual Antithrombotic Therapy in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation and Coronary Artery Disease

Accepted Manuscript Triple Versus Dual Antithrombotic Therapy in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and Coronary Artery Disease Renato D. Lopes, MD, MH...

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Accepted Manuscript Triple Versus Dual Antithrombotic Therapy in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and Coronary Artery Disease Renato D. Lopes, MD, MHS, PhD, Meena Rao, MD, DaJuanicia N. Simon, MS, Laine Thomas, PhD, Jack Ansell, MD, Gregg C. Fonarow, MD, Bernard J. Gersh, MB, ChB, DPhil, Alan S. Go, MD, Elaine M. Hylek, MD, MPH, Peter Kowey, MD, Jonathan P. Piccini, MD, MHS, Daniel E. Singer, MD, Paul Chang, MD, Eric D. Peterson, MD, MPH, Kenneth W. Mahaffey, MD PII:

S0002-9343(16)30025-0

DOI:

10.1016/j.amjmed.2015.12.026

Reference:

AJM 13329

To appear in:

The American Journal of Medicine

Received Date: 16 November 2015 Revised Date:

14 December 2015

Accepted Date: 15 December 2015

Please cite this article as: Lopes RD, Rao M, Simon DN, Thomas L, Ansell J, Fonarow GC, Gersh BJ, Go AS, Hylek EM, Kowey P, Piccini JP, Singer DE, Chang P, Peterson ED, Mahaffey KW, Triple Versus Dual Antithrombotic Therapy in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and Coronary Artery Disease, The American Journal of Medicine (2016), doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2015.12.026. This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

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Triple Versus Dual Antithrombotic Therapy in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and Coronary Artery Disease

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Renato D. Lopes, MD, MHS, PhD,a Meena Rao, MD,a DaJuanicia N. Simon, MS, a Laine Thomas, PhD,a Jack Ansell, MD,b Gregg C. Fonarow, MD,c Bernard J. Gersh, MB, ChB, DPhil,d Alan S. Go, MD,e Elaine M. Hylek, MD, MPH,f Peter Kowey, MD,g Jonathan P. Piccini, MD, MHS,a Daniel E. Singer, MD,h Paul Chang, MD,i Eric D. Peterson, MD, MPH,a Kenneth W.

a

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Mahaffey, MD j

Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC; bHofstra

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North Shore/LIJ School of Medicine, New York, NY; cUCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA; dMayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN; eKaiser Permanente, Oakland, CA; f

Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA; gLankenau Institute for Medical Research,

Wynnewood, PA; hHarvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA; i

Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Raritan, NJ; jStanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA.

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Running title: Triple Versus Dual Antithrombotic Therapy

Address for correspondence: Dr. Renato D. Lopes, Duke Clinical Research Institute, Box

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3850, 2400 Pratt Street, Room 0311, Terrace Level, Durham, NC 27705; E-mail: [email protected]; phone: 919-668-8241; fax: 919-668-7056.

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Funding: The ORBIT-AF registry is sponsored by Janssen Scientific Affairs, Raritan, NJ. The

authors are solely responsible for the design and conduct of this study, all study analyses, the drafting and editing of the paper, and its final contents. Conflict of Interest: R.D.L. reports consulting fees and research grants from Bristol-Myers

Squibb, research grants from GlaxoSmithKline, and consulting fees from Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bayer, and Pfizer. J.A. reports consultant/advisory board fees from Bristol Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Daiichi Sankyo, Boehringer-Ingelheim, and Alere. G.C.F. reports consultant/advisory board fees from Ortho McNeil. B.J.G. reports DSMB/advisory board fees

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from Medtronic, Baxter Healthcare Corporation, InspireMD, Cardiovascular Research Foundation, PPD Development, LP, Boston Scientific, and St. Jude. E.M.H. reports honoraria support from Boehringer-Ingelheim and Bayer; and consultant/advisory board fees from Johnson & Johnson, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Daiichi Sankyo, Pfizer, and Ortho-

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McNeil-Janssen. P.K. reports consultant/advisory board fees from Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson, Portola, Merck, Sanofi, and Daiichi Sankyo. J.P.P. reports research grant support from ARCA Biopharma, GE Healthcare, Johnson & Johnson, and

ResMed, and consulting fees from Forest Laboratories, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic and

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Spectranetics. D.E.S. reports research grant support from Johnson & Johnson and Bristol-Myers Squibb, and consultant/advisory board fees from Bayer HealthCare, Boehringer-Ingelheim,

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Bristol-Myers Squibb, Daiichi Sankyo, Johnson & Johnson, and Pfizer. P.C. reports employment with Janssen Pharmaceuticals. E.D.P. reports research grant support from Eli Lilly & Company, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and the American Heart Association; consultant/advisory board support from Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, and Genentech. K.W.M.’s financial disclosures prior to August 1, 2013, can be viewed at https://www.dcri.org/about-us/conflict-of-interest/Mahaffey-COI_2011-2013.pdf; disclosures

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after August 1, 2013, can be viewed at http://med.stanford.edu/profiles/kenneth-mahaffey. None of the other authors report disclosures.

Authorship: All authors had access to the data and played a role in writing this manuscript. Article type: Clinical Research Study

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Word count: 4836 (total); 4 tables, 5 figures

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ABSTRACT Background: The role of triple antithrombotic therapy versus dual antithrombotic therapy in patients with both atrial fibrillation and coronary artery disease remains unclear. This study

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explores the differences in treatment practices and outcomes between triple antithrombotic therapy and dual antithrombotic therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation and coronary artery disease.

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Methods: Using the ORBIT-AF registry (n=10,135), we analyzed outcomes in patients with coronary artery disease (n=1,827) according to treatment with triple antithrombotic therapy

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(defined as concurrent therapy with an oral anticoagulant, a thienopyridine, and aspirin) or dual antithrombotic therapy (comprising either an oral anticoagulant and 1 antiplatelet agent [OAC plus AA] or 2 antiplatelet drugs and no anticoagulant [DAP]).

Results: The use of triple antithrombotic therapy, OAC plus AA, and DAP at baseline was 8.5%

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(n=155), 80.4% (n=1,468), and 11.2% (n=204), respectively. Among patients treated with OAC plus AA, aspirin was the most common antiplatelet agent used (90%), followed by clopidogrel (10%) and prasugrel (0.1%). The use of triple antithrombotic therapy was not affected by either

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patient risk of stroke or bleeding. Patients treated with triple antithrombotic therapy at baseline were hospitalized for all causes (including cardiovascular) more often than patients on OAC plus

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AA (adjusted HR 1.75, 95%CI: 1.35-2.26, P<.0001) or DAP (HR 1.82, 95%CI: 1.25-2.65, P=.0018). Rates of major bleeding or a combined cardiovascular outcome were not significantly different by treatment group. Conclusions: Choice of antithrombotic therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation and coronary artery disease was not affected by patient stroke or bleeding risks. Triple antithrombotic therapytreated patients were more likely to be hospitalized for all causes than those on OAC plus AA or on DAP.

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Keywords: Anticoagulants • Antiplatelets • Combined therapy • Atrial fibrillation • Coronary

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artery disease.

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Atrial fibrillation is a common cardiac arrhythmia that increases risk of stroke by 5- to 7-fold.1-3 Use of anticoagulation in those with atrial fibrillation decreases the risk of stroke in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation and is therefore recommended in atrial fibrillation patients with at

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least 1 risk factor for stroke.4-6 Warfarin has been shown to be superior in reducing embolic events in patients with atrial fibrillation as compared with dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and clopidogrel.7 Despite that, antiplatelet therapy continues to be used instead of oral

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anticoagulants in patients with atrial fibrillation, particularly in the elderly and other high-risk patients.8-10 Patients with atrial fibrillation and coronary artery disease have a potential indication

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for antiplatelet therapy for secondary prevention; however, combining anticoagulation and aspirin therapy increases rates of major bleeding.11-14 Given the uncertainty of which therapy to choose and for how long, guidelines recommend balancing the risk between stent thrombosis, recurrent myocardial infarction, stroke, embolism, and bleeding for each patient to determine

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treatment choice and duration.

Using data from the Outcomes Registry for Better Informed Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation (ORBIT-AF) we examined use and associated outcomes of dual antiplatelet therapy

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in addition to anticoagulation (i.e., triple antithrombotic therapy) and dual antithrombotic therapy

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among patients with both atrial fibrillation and coronary artery disease.

METHODS

ORBIT-AF is an observational, multicenter, prospective registry of outpatients with atrial fibrillation. The rationale and study design of the ORBIT-AF registry have been previously described.15 The patients enrolled in the registry had atrial fibrillation documented by electrocardiography and were over 18 years of age. Enrollees needed to be able to provide

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informed consent and be available for follow-up every 6 months out to a minimum of 2 years. Participants were excluded if they had reversible causes of atrial fibrillation or a life expectancy less than 6 months. The ORBIT-AF registry was approved by the Duke University Institutional

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Review Board (IRB) and local site IRBs as appropriate per local requirements.

Overall, 10,135 patients were enrolled in the ORBIT-AF registry from 2010 through 2011. From the registry, this analysis was limited to patients who were on triple antithrombotic

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therapy or dual antithrombotic therapy and had a history of coronary artery disease (n = 1,827 [18.0%], from 154 different sites). For the purpose of this analysis, coronary artery disease at

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study entry was defined as a history of coronary artery disease, history of coronary artery bypass grafting, percutaneous coronary intervention, or drug-eluting stent implantation. Triple antithrombotic therapy was defined as concurrent therapy with an oral anticoagulant, a thienopyridine, and aspirin. Dual antithrombotic therapy comprised either an oral anticoagulant

Statistical Analysis

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and 1 antiplatelet agent (OAC plus AA) or 2 antiplatelet drugs and no oral anticoagulant (DAP).

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Baseline characteristics were stratified by type of therapy and are presented as percentages for categorical variables and medians (interquartile range) for continuous variables. Risk scores for

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stroke and bleeding risk were calculated using the CHADS2, CHA2DS2-VASc, and ATRIA (Anticoagulation and Risk Factors in Atrial Fibrillation) scores.16-18 The clinical outcomes of interest were all-cause hospitalization, myocardial infarction, revascularization (percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass grafting), stroke/non-central nervous system embolism or transient ischemic attack, and International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis major bleeding within 1 year of enrollment in the ORBIT-AF registry. Outcomes were modeled

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using Cox proportional hazards modeling accounting for clustering of patients within sites by adding a random effect for site (multivariable Cox frailty model). The results are presented as hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals. All P values were 2-sided, and P < .05 was

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considered statistically significant. Adjustment of outcomes was done based on covariates previously established to be associated with the given outcome and components of the

ATRIA,CHA2DS2 VASc, and HAS-BLED scores19 (see also Supplementary Appendix).

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Briefly, backward selection with a stay criteria of P < .05 was used to identify predictors of each outcome. Missing data were handled with multiple imputation, and imputed values were

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obtained by Markov chain Monte Carlo or regression methods. Standard errors and results reflect the combined analysis over 5 imputed data. For all models, continuous variables were evaluated for non-linearity with the outcome and when non-linear fit with linear splines. Additionally, in patients with 6-month and/or 12-month follow-up, the percentage of patients who persisted on

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triple antithrombotic therapy was measured. The rates of previous acute myocardial infarction and percutaneous coronary intervention were collected in the case report form, which included dates of the most recent events at baseline. All analyses were performed using SAS version 9.3

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RESULTS

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(SAS Institute, Cary, NC).

From the overall ORBIT-AF study population, 36% (n=3,645) had coronary artery disease. Of those, 49.9% (n=1,818) were on mono antithrombotic therapy or no therapy. From the final study population of 1,827 patients, 155 patients (8.5%) were on triple antithrombotic therapy, 1,468 (80.4%) received OAC plus AA, and 204 (11.2%) were on DAP (Figure 1). We also noted

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that roughly 20% of patients with atrial fibrillation who did not have coronary artery disease were on triple antithrombotic therapy or dual antithrombotic therapy.

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Baseline Characteristics

Baseline characteristics are shown in Table 1. Patients who were treated with triple

antithrombotic therapy were younger and had a higher creatinine clearance. DAP was used more

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commonly in patients with a prior history of gastrointestinal bleed, and triple antithrombotic therapy was not used in patients with history of hemorrhagic stroke. DAP and triple

OAC plus AA.

Antithrombotic Medications

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antithrombotic therapy were more often to have had prior myocardial infarction and stents than

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The most frequently occurring triple antithrombotic therapy combination was warfarin, aspirin, and clopidogrel. Among patients on OAC plus AA, aspirin was the most common antiplatelet used (90%), followed by clopidogrel (10%) and prasugrel (0.1%) (Table 2). For DAP, aspirin

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was used in 100% of the patients, clopidogrel in 96%, and prasugrel in 3.9%. Of the patients receiving triple antithrombotic therapy, OAC plus AA, or DAP at baseline and with follow-up

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data at 6 months and/or 12 months, 38.5%, 75.8%, and 65.3% remained on these treatments at 1 year, respectively.

Risk Scores and Antithrombotic Therapy Any of the antithrombotic treatments were significantly altered by patients risk for systemic emboli or stroke (as assessed by CHADS2 or CHA2DS2 VASc risk scores) (Figure 2,

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Supplementary Figure 1). Patients at the highest risk of bleeding (ATRIA score ≥5) were the least likely to use triple therapy (Figure 3).

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Clinical Outcomes

In this population, there were low rates of patients with acute myocardial infarction and

percutaneous coronary intervention in the year prior to enrollment and during study follow-up;

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98 patients had had a myocardial infarction in the past year (5.4%). Of the 92 patients who had had a drug-eluting stent placed in the past year, 41% were on triple antithrombotic therapy

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(n=38), 33% on OAC plus AA (n=28), and 28% on DAP (n=26). Unadjusted rates of myocardial infarction during 1-year follow-up were 1.0 events/100 patient years for patients on OAC plus AA, 2.8 events/100 patient years for DAP, and 4.2 events/100 patient years for triple antithrombotic therapy.

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Primary adjusted outcomes at 1 year compared between patients on triple antithrombotic therapy at baseline and patients on OAC plus AA or DAP before and after adjustment are shown in Figures 4 and 5. Patients treated with triple antithrombotic therapy at baseline were

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hospitalized for all causes (including cardiovascular) more often than patients on OAC plus AA (adjusted HR 1.75, 95% CI: 1.35-2.26, P<.0001) or DAP (HR 1.82, 95% CI: 1.25-2.65,

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P=.0018) (Figures 4 and 5; Tables 3 and 4). No differences in stroke, bleeding or death were seen among the 3 different antithrombotic therapy strategies.

DISCUSSION

Patients with atrial fibrillation and coronary artery disease have potential indications for both anticoagulation and antiplatelet therapy. The ideal combination of treatments in these patients

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remains unclear and thus it is important to understand how the treatments are being used and the associated outcomes of these various strategies. Our study looked at patients with atrial fibrillation and coronary artery disease enrolled in the ORBIT-AF registry and examined

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outcomes between patients on dual antithrombotic therapy (either OAC plus AA or DAP) and triple antithrombotic therapy. Overall, we saw that use of antithrombotic therapy was not

strongly influenced by patients’ risk of stroke; if anything, use of more aggressive therapies

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tended to decline with increasing risk. Similarly, there were no significant differences in use of these regimens as a function of bleeding risk. Finally, although our results were observational,

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we found that adjusted risks of stroke and bleeding were similar by treatment regimen, but hospitalization for all causes (including cardiovascular) was higher in triple antithrombotic therapy-treated patients than in others.

Although anticoagulation is an effective therapy to decrease the risk of stroke in patients

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with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, there exists a paradox of underuse, as patients with the highest risk of stroke have decreased anticoagulation use.4 Decreasing use of anticoagulation in patients with an increasing CHADS2 score has been described in high-risk atrial fibrillation

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patients with acute coronary syndromes20,21 and after percutaneous coronary intervention.21,22 This paradox was also seen in our study population with atrial fibrillation and coronary artery

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disease for both dual antithrombotic therapy and triple antithrombotic therapy. With increasing CHADS2 and CHA2DS2 VASc scores, the rates of anticoagulation with all 3 treatment strategies initially increased, before decreasing with the highest risk patients. We found, however, that the rates of aggressive anticoagulation use decreased among those at high risk for bleeding, and those at highest risk for bleeding (with ATRIA score ≥ 5) had the lowest use of triple antithrombotic therapy (Figure 4). These findings suggest that while the risk scores are a useful

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guide for providers to identify patients at risk for stroke or bleeding, there is more complexity to what providers use in practice to guide clinical decisions, highlighting the need for a better understanding of antithrombotic treatment strategies.23-25

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Triple antithrombotic therapy has been associated with a 4-fold increase in fatal and nonfatal bleeding without additional survival benefit when compared to anticoagulation with aspirin therapy in patients post-acute myocardial infarction.13,26 In a large Danish registry

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including patients with a previous diagnosis of atrial fibrillation who were admitted with acute myocardial infarction, the use of oral anticoagulation with the antiplatelet agent clopidogrel had

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similar efficacy and safety outcomes when compared to triple antithrombotic therapy.22 In our patient population with low rates of acute myocardial infarction prior to enrollment and during follow-up, there was a trend toward higher risks for bleeding events; however, this did not reach statistical significance. This finding may reflect the low event rates overall and wide confidence

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intervals or some degree of residual confounding in this observational data. The WOEST (What Is the Optimal Antiplatelet & Anticoagulant Therapy in Patients With Oral Anticoagulation and Coronary Stenting) trial studied dual antithrombotic therapy with

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clopidogrel and oral anticoagulation compared to triple antithrombotic therapy in patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention and found that the patients receiving dual

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antithrombotic therapy had similar outcomes with less major bleeding compared with the patients receiving triple antithrombotic therapy.27 Although there are several limitations to this study (e.g., open label with just 573 patients), it suggests that the bleeding risk associated with aspirin therapy may be underestimated.28 In fact, low-dose aspirin therapy was shown to have similar risk of major bleeding to apixaban in patients with atrial fibrillation and CHADS2 score ≥1 without the benefit in stroke prevention.29

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The most common anticoagulant used in our patient population was warfarin, and the most common antiplatelet agent used together with aspirin was clopidogrel. In the era of novel oral anticoagulants and more potent antiplatelet agents, a “less is more” approach may provide

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better net clinical benefit. However, data on the outcomes and guidance on management of these agents used in combination in this high-risk population are limited.5 The choice of antiplatelet agent also adds complexity to the antithrombotic therapy strategy. In our study, the majority of

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triple antithrombotic therapy-treated patients used warfarin, clopidogrel, and aspirin, as

suggested by current guidelines. Sarafoff et al. showed that among 377 patients who underwent

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drug-eluting stent implantation and had an indication for oral anticoagulation, prasugrel was used in 5.6% of the time instead of clopidogrel, and TIMI major and minor bleeding occurred significantly more often in the prasugrel group compared with the clopidogrel group, with no significant difference regarding the combined ischemic secondary endpoint.30 In our study,

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prasugrel was used in 3.9% of the patients on triple antithrombotic therapy. Thus, caution should be taken with more potent antiplatelet agents such as prasugrel or ticagrelor for patients who need triple antithrombotic therapy, and more data on different antithrombotic therapy

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combinations as well as different durations are needed in patients with atrial fibrillation and coronary artery disease. Studies evaluating the efficacy and safety of triple therapy with non-

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vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants for patients with atrial fibrillation and acute coronary syndromes or percutaneous coronary intervention are ongoing and will improve the knowledge in this important field.

Study Limitations

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This study has several limitations. It describes observational data from a prospective national registry, and the treatment groups were not randomly assigned. There were also low rates of previous and incident ischemic events (stroke or myocardial infarction) and bleeding events,

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which limit the ability to detect meaningful differences in these outcomes. There was little

information about the use of novel oral anticoagulants in patients with both coronary artery

disease and atrial fibrillation since these agents were just starting to be used in clinical practice

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when our study was performed. Thus, temporal bias needs to be recognized. Finally, use of

clopidogrel in the OAC plus AA group was low; therefore, a comparison of anticoagulation with

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clopidogrel versus aspirin therapy could not be made.

Conclusion

Choice of antithrombotic therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation and coronary artery disease

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was not affected by patient stroke or bleeding risks. Patients treated with triple antithrombotic therapy were more likely to be hospitalized for all causes (including cardiovascular) than those on OAC plus AA or on DAP. Since information about non-vitamin K antagonist oral

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anticoagulants in this setting is limited, it will be important to look at the additional benefit of the

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newer anticoagulants as well as the more powerful antiplatelet inhibitors.

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Figure Legends Figure 1. Flow diagram of study population. CAD = coronary artery disease; OAC + AA = dual

antithrombotic therapy with 2 antiplatelet agents.

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antithrombotic therapy with an oral anticoagulant plus 1 antiplatelet agent; DAP = dual

Figure 2. Antithrombotic strategy by CHA2DS2 VASc score. OAC + AA = dual antithrombotic therapy with an oral anticoagulant plus 1 antiplatelet agent; DAP = dual antithrombotic therapy

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with 2 antiplatelet agents; TT = triple antithrombotic therapy (oral anticoagulation plus dual antiplatelet therapy).

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Figure 3. Antithrombotic strategy by ATRIA bleeding score. ATRIA = Anticoagulation and Risk Factors in Atrial Fibrillation; OAC + AA = dual antithrombotic therapy with an oral anticoagulant plus 1 antiplatelet agent; DAP = dual antithrombotic therapy with 2 antiplatelet agents; TT = triple antithrombotic therapy (oral anticoagulation plus dual antiplatelet therapy).

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Figure 4. 1-year outcomes. CNS = central nervous system; OAC + AA = dual antithrombotic therapy with an oral anticoagulant plus 1 antiplatelet agent; DAP = dual antithrombotic therapy with 2 antiplatelet agents; MI = myocardial infarction; TIA = transient ischemic attack; TT =

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triple antithrombotic therapy (oral anticoagulation plus dual antiplatelet therapy). Figure 5. Cumulative incidence plot showing all-cause hospitalization at 1 year. DAP = dual

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antithrombotic therapy with 2 antiplatelet agents; OAC + AA = dual antithrombotic therapy with an oral anticoagulant plus 1 antiplatelet agent; TT = triple antithrombotic therapy (oral anticoagulation plus dual antiplatelet therapy).

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Table 1. Baseline characteristics stratified by antithrombotic therapy DAP

TT

(n=204)

(n=155)

Age, y

76 (70–81)

79 (70–84)

73 (67– 79)

Female

27%

36%

93% 3% 1.2% 2% 0.30%

90% 6% 1.50% 2% 0%

Hypertension

90%

87%

Hyperlipidemia

89%

89%

90%

Hemodialysis

2%

2%

2%

Diabetes

39%

34%

43%

Mechanical valve

4%

1%

1%

Heart failure Myocardial infarction in past year

49%

46%

46%

3%

12%

14%

Drug eluting stent in past year

2%

13%

25%

Previous gastrointestinal bleed

9%

19%

8%

Previous cerebrovascular event

21%

19%

21%

Non-hemorrhagic stroke

11%

8%

9%

Hemorrhagic stroke

1%

2%

0%

67 (49-90)

58 (42-81)

74 (56-92)

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Creatinine clearance

27%

94% 3% 0% 2.60% 0.70%

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Race White Black Other* Hispanic ethnicity Missing

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OAC plus AA (n=1,468)

Characteristic

92%

Values are presented as % or median (interquartile range). OAC plus AA = dual antithrombotic therapy with an oral anticoagulant plus an antiplatelet agent; DAP = dual antithrombotic therapy with 2 antiplatelet agents; TT = triple antithrombotic therapy (oral anticoagulant plus dual antiplatelet therapy). *Other – Asian, American Indian/Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

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Table 2. Antithrombotic medication use DAP (n=196)

TT (n=152)

Aspirin

90%

100%

100%

Clopidogrel

10%

96%

99%

Prasugrel

0.1%

3.9%

Ticagrelor

0

0

Warfarin

94%

0

Dabigatran

6%

0

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Antithrombotic Medication

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OAC plus AA (n=1,347)

1.3% 0

99%

0.7%

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Outcome

Triple therapy: no. of events (no. of events OAC plus AA: no. of per 100 patient- events (no. of events years) per 100 patient-years) (n=149) (n=1431)

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Table 3. Cox regression model – association of triple therapy use at baseline vs. OAC plus AA and 1-year outcomes (n=1,580)*

Unadjusted HR (95% CI)

Adjusted HR (95% CI)

Adjusted p value

6 (4.14)

74 (5.41)

0.77 (0.33-1.78)

0.77 (0.31-1.92)

.5747

Cardiovascular death

4 (2.76)

37 (2.71)

1.03 (0.36-2.94)

1.01 (0.33-3.11)

.9921

Stroke/TIA/MI/revascularization

12 (8.67)

68 (5.08)

1.72 (0.93-3.19)

1.68 (0.88-3.18)

.1139

1st all-cause hospitalization

79 (79.29)

525 (47.84)

1.62 (1.26-2.07)

1.75 (1.35-2.26)

<.0001

1st bleeding-cause hospitalization 11 (7.89)

70 (5.24)

1.56 (0.82-2.97)

1.90 (0.97-3.71)

.0603

1st cardiovascular hospitalization

55 (48.64)

316 (26.23)

1.78 (1.32-2.39)

1.74 (1.28-2.38)

.0004

1st major bleed

8 (5.68)

78 (5.85)

1.03 (0.49-2.16)

1.19 (0.55-2.53)

.6602

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All-cause death

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Table 4. Cox regression model – association of triple therapy use at baseline vs. dual antithrombotic therapy with 2

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antiplatelet agents and 1-year outcomes (n=347)*

6 (4.14)

17 (9.34)

Cardiovascular death

4 (2.76)

10 (5.54)

Stroke/TIA/MI/revascularization

12 (8.67)

12 (6.74)

1st all-cause hospitalization

79 (79.29)

81 (56.41) 7 (3.91)

1st cardiovascular hospitalization

55 (48.64)

44 (27.35)

1st major bleed

8 (5.68)

0.42 (0.16-1.07)

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1st bleeding-cause hospitalization 11 (7.89)

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All-cause death

9 (5.06)

Adjusted HR (95% CI)

.2727

0.45 (0.14-1.48)

0.21 (0.03-1.70)

.1440

1.29 (0.58-2.86)

1.74 (0.65-4.64)

.2713

1.42 (1.03-1.97)

1.82 (1.25-2.65)

.0018

2.04 (0.78-5.34)

2.24 (0.62-8.19)

.2208

1.77 (1.19-2.63)

2.29 (1.40-3.73)

.0009

1.13 (0.43-2.97)

1.55 (0.44-5.47)

.4974

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Adjusted p value

0.34 (0.05-2.36)

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Outcome

Triple therapy: no. of events (no. of events DAP: no. of events (no. per 100 patientof events per 100 years) patient-years) Unadjusted HR (95% (n=149) (n=198) CI)

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Research Highlights •

The use of triple antithrombotic therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation and coronary artery disease was 8.5%. Choice of triple or dual therapy in patients was not affected by patient stroke or bleeding risks.



Patients treated with triple therapy were more likely to be hospitalized than those on dual therapy.

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SUPPLEMENTARY APPENDIX Variables in the adjusted models

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All-cause death adjusted for: Level of education, rhythm control, cognitive impairment/dementia, hyperlipidemia, eGFR ≤ 80, EGFR > 80 LAD type, cancer, diastolic blood pressure truncated at 70, intraventricular conduction, frailty, HEIGHT, heart rate, hematocrit, diabetes, smoking, systolic blood pressure ≤ 120, COPD, BMI truncated at 30, sex, CHF, age, functional status

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Cardiovascular death adjusted for: Diabetes, anemia, diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure ≤ 125, hyperlipidemia, AV Node/HIS bundle ablation, COPD, significant valvular disease, height, sex, LVEF type, functional status, eGFR, CHF, age

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Stroke, non-CNS embolism, TIA, MI or revascularization adjusted for: Diabetes, prior MI, prior cardioversions, history of CAD, peripheral vascular disease, prior antiarrhythmic drug use, EHRA score, insurance status, prior PCI, age, eGFR, LVEF type, dialysis, AF type, AV Node/HIS bundle ablation, weight, hypertension, age, history of stroke/TIA 1st hospitalization (all-cause) adjusted for: Age ≤ 70, age > 70, BMI, weight, osteoporosis, height, PCI, cancer, OSA, anemia, frailty, insurance status, history of CAD, PI/Site specialty, prior antiarrhythmic drug use, peripheral vascular disease, functional status, heart rate > 68, diabetes, hematocrit, eGFR ≤ 80, COPD, diastolic blood pressure truncated at 70, EHRA score, CHF

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1st bleeding hospitalization adjusted for: BMI, history of CAD, prior valve replacement/repair, COPD, history of PCI, rhythm control, peripheral vascular disease, functional status, eGFR, LVEF type, diastolic blood pressure, AF type, diabetes, hematocrit, prior antiarrhythmic drug use, LAD type, age ≤ 75, age > 75, heart rate > 70, PI/Site specialty, EHRA score, CHF

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1st cardiovascular hospitalization adjusted for: BMI, history of CAD, prior valve replacement/repair, COPD, history of PCI, rhythm control, peripheral vascular disease, functional status, eGFR, LVEF type, diastolic blood pressure, AF type, diabetes, hematocrit, prior antiarrhythmic drug use, LAD type, age ≤ 75, age > 75, heart rate > 70, PI/Site specialty, EHRA score, CHF Major bleeding adjusted for: COPD, OSA, LAD type, cancer, functional status, level of education, intraventricular conduction, rhythm control, smoking status, significant valvular disease, eGFR, insurance status, history of GI bleed, anemia, hematocrit

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Supplementary Figure 1. Antithrombotic strategy by CHADS2 score. OAC + AA = dual antithrombotic therapy with an oral anticoagulant plus 1 antiplatelet agent; DAP = dual antithrombotic therapy with 2 antiplatelet agents; TT = triple antithrombotic therapy (oral anticoagulation plus dual antiplatelet therapy).