Safety of Dual‐Antiplatelet Therapy After Myocardial Infarction Among Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease

BACKGROUND: Although recommended in the guidelines, the safety of chronic P2Y(12) inhibitor therapy in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) after an acute myocardial infarction (MI) is not well studied. METHODS AND RESULTS: The TRANSLATE‐ACS (Treatment with ADP Inhibitors: Longitudinal Assessment of Treatment Patterns and Events After Acute Coronary Syndrome) study included 11 108 MI patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention and discharged alive on a P2Y(12) inhibitor from 233 US hospitals. We compared rates of GUSTO (Global Use of Strategies to Open Occluded Arteries) severe/moderate bleeding and premature discontinuation of P2Y(12) inhibitor by 1 year after MI among patients with varying CKD severity. The majority of MI patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention had CKD: 42% had stage 2 (mild), 27% had stage 3 (moderate), and 4% had stage ≥4 (severe/end stage). Higher potency P2Y(12) inhibitors (prasugrel or ticagrelor) were prescribed at discharge in 39%, 35%, 23%, and 15% (P<0.01) of patients with stages 1, 2, 3, and ≥4, respectively. One‐year GUSTO severe/moderate bleeding rates were higher with each stage of CKD: 1% in patients with CKD stage 1 or no CKD, 2% with an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.61 (95% CI, 1.05–2.35) for CKD stage 2, 4% with an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.92 (95% CI, 1.21–3.02) for CKD stage 3, and 10% with an adjusted hazard ratio of 2.44 (95% CI, 1.40–4.23) for patients with CKD stage ≥4. By 1 year after MI, 16% of patients overall had prematurely discontinued P2Y(12) inhibitor therapy; however, this rate was not largely affected by CKD stage. Premature P2Y(12) inhibitor–discontinuation rates were higher for patients discharged on higher potency P2Y(12) inhibitors in patients with CKD stage ≥2 (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: CKD severity was associated with a higher bleeding risk among those with acute MI treated with a P2Y(12) inhibitor. Patients with more advanced CKD were not significantly more likely than those with less advance CKD to prematurely discontinue P2Y(12) inhibitor therapy.