Advantages and shortcomings of platelet antiaggregants in the treatment of myocardial infarction

: The authors compared the action of small doses of aspirin (100-200 mg/day) and ticlopidine (500 mg/day) in multimodality therapy of acute myocardial infarction. Rapid normalization of aggregation time and disaggregation percentage, a sharp decrease in spontaneous aggregation before adding ADP were noted on the first 5 days of ticlopidine therapy. Platelet aggregation indices returned to normal 3-4 days earlier in the use of ticlopidine versus aspirin. However ticlopidine administration over 7 days was characterized by more frequent episodes of G. I. tract hemorrhages of short duration. There were also some data on the toxic effect of the drug on hepatocytes. More allergic reactions were observed in comparison with the group of patients on aspirin therapy. In order to achieve an optimal antiaggregation effect and to reduce the number of ticlopidine-related side effects short-term courses of ticlopidine with subsequent administration of aspirin at small doses were recommended.