Higher antiplatelet dose. (Clinical Capsules).

Among patients about to undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), those with the most severe angina may be somewhat resistant to antiplatelet pretreatment and may require doses much higher than standard to ward off complications, said Dr. Daniel Soffer of William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Mich., and his associates.

Recent data suggested that a high pre-procedure loading dose (450 mg) of clopidogrel would achieve greater platelet inhibition and would act more rapidly than the standard 300-mg loading dose in patients undergoing PCI for angina. But platelet function studies were not performed, and the impact of angina class on the degree of platelet ...