http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/14/us-health-heart-astrazeneca-idUSKBN0MA0NK20150314 He noted that for each 10,000 patients treated, Brilinta would prevent 42 cardiovascular events annually but cause 31 major bleeds.
He calcutated the nnt on 1 year not 3. The point of the trial is long term not short term. It is worthy to note again no increase in all cause mortality with B as was seen as in the Dapt trial with E an P. Has AZ pissed off the journal why does this jackass get to comment by changing the entire premise of the trial ?
What difference does any of this make? My doctors are too stupid to listen! Even my speaker won't write this dog. I'm quitting.
When it suits, you claim a couple of month's survival outcome is a superiority. When it hurts, then you say you're looking long-term. Long term we've all got about 78 years. If you're looking at this as long term why did you collect and analyze the short term data? Why not take aspirin alone anyway? It is safe and effective, inexpensive. Not worth the risk to me to add a therapy that is highly synthesized, no long term testing (by your own admission here of what long term and short term is).
Perhaps the trial only lasted one year because of high drop-out rate, which was clearly also much higher in the drug group. It is amazing that there was a general positive spin on the results, but thankfully some journalists tell it like it is. http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryhusten/2015/03/14/astrazeneca-drug-approaching-the-point-of-diminishing-returns/ "Over the course of the trial the study drug was discontinued in 32% of patients in the high dose ticagrelor group, 28.7% in the low-dose ticagrelor group, and 21.4% in the placebo group. One contributing factor was a higher rate of dyspnea, or shortness of breath, in the ticagrelor groups (18.93% and 15.84% versus 6.38%). In an accompanying editorial, John Keaney writes that the PEGASUS results “prompt speculation as to whether dual platelet inhibition with high-potency agents is approaching the point of diminishing returns.” He calculated that treating 10,000 patients with low dose ticagrelor “for 1 year would prevent approximately 42 primary end-point events and produce approximately 31 TIMI major bleeding events — close to an even proposition.”
well, pleased to be retiring this year. And if unfortunate to have a cardiovascular episode, I now know enough to say "no thanks". But, if it helps you guys to stay ahead of the game, keep trying to get the docs to prescribe this poison!
