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VIEWPOINT

Is CURE a cure for acute coronary syndromes? Statistical versus clinical significance

^* Department of Cardiology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Manuscript received February 4, 2002; revised manuscript received April 6, 2002, accepted April 17, 2002.

^* Reprint requests and correspondence: Dr. Umesh N. Khot, Department of Cardiology, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland Hts, Ohio 44195, USA.
unkhot{at}bigfoot.com

Clopidogrel has been recently approved for treatment of non–ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes based on the Clopidogrel in Unstable Angina to Prevent Recurrent Events (CURE) trial. However, the trial’s findings are confounded by issues that lessen its clinical significance. Clopidogrel did not reduce mortality; its benefit was limited to preventing myocardial infarction, which was defined less stringently than in previous trials. Clopidogrel led to an increase in major and minor bleeding. Furthermore, clopidogrel increased bleeding risk in early cardiac surgery. Thus, widespread usage of clopidogrel, especially in centers with an early revascularization strategy, will have limited clinical benefit with considerable risk.

Abbreviations and Acronyms   ACC   American College of Cardiology   ACS   acute coronary syndrome   CABG   coronary artery bypass grafting   CURE   Clopidogrel in Unstable Angina to Prevent Recurrent Events trial   MI   myocardial infarction

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