According to a systematic review used to develop the 2016 American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guidelines for duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT), which of the following statements is most likely true regarding the duration of DAPT after implantation of a newer-generation drug-eluting stent (DES)?
In 2011, guidelines from the ACC/AHA recommended that DAPT be continued for at least 12 months after implantation of a DES. This recommendation was based primarily on studies of first-generation DESs. Since that time, newer-generation DESs, which have a lower rate of stent thrombosis, have become prevalent. These newer stents include zotarolimus-eluting stents, biolimus-eluting stents, and everolimus-eluting stents with biodegradable polymers.
Members of an ACC/AHA task force recently conducted a systematic review with meta-analysis to explore the optimum duration of DAPT after newer-generation DES implantation. They evaluated 11 randomized controlled trials, which included a total of 33,051 patients, 65 percent of...