Short Term Dual Antiplatelet Therapy After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with Drug Eluting Stents: A Comprehensive Review of Literature

Percutaneous coronary intervention with a drug eluting stent requires administration of dual anti platelet therapy (DAPT) to prevent thrombotic complications. Optimal duration of this therapy remains unclear especially for patients with high bleeding risk. Since the risk of stent thrombosis is highest immediately following stent implantation, longer term DAPT therapy may confer additional risk of harm rather than benefit for this subset of patients. Hence, short duration DAPT therapy may be a reasonable alternative. Multiple studies have demonstrated their noninferiority compared to traditional duration of DAPT in preventing thrombotic complications following stent implantation while at the same time keeping bleeding risk at a minimum. Here, we discuss short duration DAPT as a treatment option and summarize the major clinical trials that were conducted recently demonstrating the results of short duration DAPT.