Short-Term Dual Antiplatelet Therapy With Early Transi-tion to Low-dose Antiplatelet Monotherapy Using Ti-cagRelor in Chronic Coronary Artery Disease

Not Applicable

Not yet recruiting

• Conditions: Chronic Coronary Syndrome
• Interventions: Drug: Ticagrelor 60 mg; Drug: clopidogrel 75 mg

• Registration Number: NCT07080684
• Lead Sponsor: University of Messina

Brief Summary

This is a prospective, multicenter, randomized, open-label trial with blinded endpoint adjudication (PROBE design), comparing one-month dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with low-dose ticagrelor (60 mg BID) followed by ticagrelor monotherapy to standard 6-month DAPT with aspirin and clopidogrel in patients with chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The primary endpoint is a composite of cardiovascular death, all-cause death, myocardial infarction, disabling stroke, target lesion revascularization (TLR), and major bleeding. The study aims to evaluate whether the short DAPT strategy reduces ischemic events while maintaining bleeding safety.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Status Verified: 2025-07
• Study First Submitted: 2025-07-03
• Study First Submitted QC: 2025-07-14
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-07-14
• Study First Posted: 2025-07-23
• Last Update Posted: 2025-07-23
• Study Start: 2025-12-01
• Primary Completion: 2026-12
• Study Completion: 2027-09-01

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 1000

Inclusion Criteria

• Age ≥18 years at the time of informed consent.
• Diagnosis of chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) according to ESC guidelines.
• Undergoing successful PCI with implantation of one or more new-generation drug-eluting stents (DES).
• Indication for dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) following PCI.
• Willingness and ability to comply with all study procedures and follow-up assessments.
• Signed informed consent prior to any study-specific procedure.
• Creatinine clearance ≥30 mL/min, calculated using the Cockcroft-Gault formula.
• Life expectancy greater than 1 year in the investigator's judg-ment.
• Hemodynamically stable at the time of randomization.
• Acceptable bleeding risk profile: patients fulfilling ARC-HBR criteria may be included only if the treating physician deems a 6-month antiplatelet regimen to be safe.
• No contraindications to study drugs, including aspirin, clopi-dogrel, or ticagrelor.

Exclusion Criteria

• Presentation with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), including STEMI, NSTEMI, or unstable angina within the previous 6 mon-ths.
• Planned staged PCI or revascularization procedure within 6 months after index PCI.
• Requirement for long-term oral anticoagulation therapy, such as for atrial fibrillation, mechanical heart valves, or venous thromboembolism.
• History of major bleeding, including gastrointestinal or intra-cranial bleeding, within the past 6 months.
• Severe hepatic impairment, active liver disease, or transamina-ses >3× upper limit of normal.
• Known platelet disorder, coagulopathy, or thrombocytopenia (<100,000/mm³).
• Contraindication or hypersensitivity to aspirin, clopidogrel, or ticagrelor, or known drug interaction that precludes their use.
• Ongoing active bleeding or high risk of bleeding that, in the opinion of the investigator, precludes DAPT.
• Pregnancy or breastfeeding, or women of childbearing potential who are not using effective contraception.
• Life expectancy <1 year due to non-cardiovascular comorbidi-ties (e.g., cancer, advanced renal failure).
• Participation in another interventional clinical trial that may interfere with the outcomes of this study.
• Severe anemia (hemoglobin <9 g/dL) not corrected before ran-domization.
• Inability or unwillingness to provide informed consent or ad-here to study follow-up.
• Prior stroke with residual neurological deficit or history of di-sabling stroke (mRS ≥3).

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Short DAPT with Ticagrelor 60 mg	Ticagrelor 60 mg	* 1-month DAPT: aspirin + ticagrelor 60 mg BID * Followed by 5-month ticagrelor 60 mg BID monotherapy * Ticagrelor will be provided by the sponsor (off-label use)
Standard DAPT with Clopidogrel	clopidogrel 75 mg	- 6-month DAPT: aspirin + clopidogrel 75 mg daily

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, disabling stroke, target lesion revascularization, major bleeding, and all-cause death	6 month	Number of participants experiencing any of the following events within 12 months after the index percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI): * Cardiovascular death - Number of participants with death due to a cardiovascular cause; * Non-fatal myocardial infarction - Number of participants with myocardial infarction as defined by the Fourth Universal Definition; * Non-fatal disabling stroke - Number of participants with stroke resulting in a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) ≥2; * Target lesion revascularization (TLR) - Number of participants undergoing clinically driven revascularization of the target lesion; * Major bleeding - Number of participants experiencing major bleeding events defined as BARC type 3 or 5; * All-cause death - Number of participants who died from any cause

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Cardiovascular Death	6 month	death due to myocardial infarction, sudden cardiac death, stroke, heart failure, or other vascular causes, as adjudicated by investigators.
All cause death	6 month	death from any cause, cardiovascular or non-cardiovascular.
Myocardial Infarction	6 month	Defined according to ARC-2 criteria as either spontaneous (type 1), peri-procedural (type 4a/4b), or stent thrombosis-related, confirmed by clinical symp-toms, ECG changes, and biomarker elevation.
Major Bleeding (BARC ≥3)	6 month	Bleeding events classified as Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) type 3a (overt bleeding with hemoglobin drop ≥3 g/dL), 3b (requiring in-tervention or surgery), 3c (intracranial or intraocular), or type 5 (fatal bleeding).
Disabling Stroke	6 month	New-onset neurologic deficit confirmed by imaging and persisting beyond 24 hours, with a modified Rankin Score (mRS) ≥2.
Target Lesion Revascularization (TLR)	6 month	Repeat revascularization (PCI or CABG) of the originally treated lesion due to restenosis or thrombosis.
Target Vessel Revascularization (TVR)	6 month	Any repeat PCI or CABG of the same vessel previously treated, regardless of lesion location.
Any Ischemic Event	6 month	Composite of MI, ischemic stroke, or TLR.