In this trial, patients with acute coronary syndromes undergoing an early invasive approach were randomly assigned to treatment with heparin or enoxaparin plus a glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor, bivalirudin plus a glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor, or bivalirudin alone. Rates of ischemic events at 30 days were similar for all three groups, whereas major bleeding was significantly reduced in the group receiving bivalirudin alone. The trial suggests that bivalirudin monotherapy may be similar in efficacy to standard therapy, although bivalirudin monotherapy is associated with a reduced risk of bleeding. Pretreatment with a thienopyridine seems to be necessary if bivalirudin monotherapy is used.
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