On October 8, a study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine where the researchers from the Netherlands indicated that patients with a transcatheter aortic valve implant (TAVI) who were administered with a combination of aspirin and Plavix stood twice the chance of increased bleeding risk over the patients given aspirin alone.
The oral antiplatelet agent Clopidogrel was marketed jointly by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Sanofi SA under the brand name Plavix. It is used to treat the formation of blood clots in peripheral vascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, and coronary artery disease. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of Plavix on November 17, 1997.
The study involved a randomized, controlled trial of over 665 patients, out of which 331 were administered with aspirin alone, and 334 patients were given aspirin plus Plavix. The researchers found that 50, or 15.1% of aspirin-only patients suffered a bleeding event over a year, whereas the rates of death due to bleeding, strokes, and heart attacks among 89, or 26.6% of aspirin and Plavix patients were also a lot more similar.
The researchers concluded that patients undergoing TAVI who did not indicate oral anticoagulation, the incidence of bleeding, and the composite of bleeding or thromboembolic events at 1 year was significantly less frequent with aspirin than with aspirin plus clopidogrel administered for 3 months.
A similar study published in 2018 by the researchers from the University of Texas also warned about the increase in bleeding risks associated with the drug combination. The study also noted that the combination also lowered the risk of stroke when used together.
