Reduced number of cardiovascular events and increased cost-effectiveness by genotype-guided antiplatelet therapy in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions in the Netherlands

AIM This study explores clinical outcome in cytochrome P450 2C19 (CYP2C19)-related poor metaboliser patients treated with either clopidogrel or prasugrel after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and investigates whether this could be cost-effective. METHODS AND RESULTS This single-centre, observational study included 3260 patients scheduled for elective PCI between October 2010 and June 2013 and followed for adverse cardiovascular events until October 2014. Post PCI, CYP2C19 poor metaboliser patients were treated with clopidogrel or prasugrel, in addition to aspirin. In total, 32 poor metabolisers were treated with clopidogrel and 41 with prasugrel. The number of adverse cardiovascular events, defined as death from cardiovascular cause, myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis, every second visit to the catheterisation room for re-PCI in the same artery, or stroke, within 1.5 years of PCI, was significantly higher in the CYP2C19 poor metaboliser group treated with clopidogrel (n = 10, 31 %) compared with the poor metaboliser group treated with prasugrel (n = 2, 5 %) (p = 0.003). Costs per gained quality-adjusted life years (QALY) were estimated, showing that genotype-guided post-PCI treatment with prasugrel could be cost-effective with less than € 10,000 per gained QALY. CONCLUSION This study provides evidence that for CYP2C19-related poor metabolisers prasugrel may be more effective than clopidogrel to prevent major adverse cardiovascular events after PCI and this approach could be cost-effective.