Every year, millions of people undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with intracoronary stent implantation. A patient from the PRAGUE-8 trial (Optimal pre-PCI clopidogrel loading: 600 mg before every coronary angiography vs. 600 mg in the cath-lab only for PCI patients) is described who suffered from acute stent thrombosis.
This patient did not have any relevant inhibition of platelet activation even after the 600 mg dose of clopidogrel. Dose uptitration would have been ineffective.
New P2Y12 receptor inhibitors are desperately needed. In the light of recently published data, the use of prasugrel may be considered as an alternative.