Eduard Veseliny, Peter Jarčuška, Mária Zakuciová
Dual anti platelet therapy with clopidogrel and aspirin has been shown to reduce recurrent cardiovascular events in patients with acute coronary syndromes or those who have undergone coronary artery stent placement. Due to the increased risk of bleeding in patients on dual anti-platelet therapy, current consensus recommendations state that patients prescribed clopidogrel plus aspirin should receive a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) to reduce gastrointestinal bleeding. Clopidogrel is a prodrug that is transformed in vivo to an active metabolite by the cytochrome P450 enzyme system. Some (but not all) data from recent ex vivo pharmacodynamic and observational studies show that PPIs, which are extensively metabolized by the cytochrome system, may decrease the anti-platelet activity of clopidogrel. This article reviews existing data regarding the drug-drug interaction between PPIs and clopidogrel.