INTERVENTIONAL CARDIOLOGY 

Minerva Cardioangiologica 2002 October;50(5):531-46

Copyright © 2002 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Eptifibatide in percutaneous coronary intervention. A review

Dery J. P., O’Shea J. C., Tcheng J. E.

Percutaneous coronary angioplasty and stenting is widely used for the treatment of patients with coronary artery disease. Glycoprotein (GP) IIb-IIIa inhibitors represent a new class of drugs with proven efficacy in reducing ischemic complications of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). One of these, eptifibatide (Integrilin?, COR), is a small molecule inhibitor of glycoprotein IIb-IIIa receptors which has been studied extensively in patients undergoing PCI. In both IMPACT II and ESPRIT trials, patients treated with eptifibatide experienced a reduction in the rate of ischemic complications compared to those treated with placebo. These landmark studies, which are the focus of this review, emphasize the importance of considering the use of GP IIb-IIIa inhibitors in all patients undergoing PCI.