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INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to determine whether there was any correlation between coronary artery disease (CAD) and retinal artery diameter at an academic tertiary medical center in Trinidad and Tobago. METHODS: This prospective study evaluated patients (n = 77) with recent invasive coronary angiography (CAG) and the Synergy between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with Taxus and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX) score who subsequently underwent optical coherence tomography-angiography (OCT-A) at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC) from January 2021 to March 2021. Routine medical history and cardiovascular medications were also recorded. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient and Mann-Whitney U-tests were used to compare correlations and medians between groups. RESULTS: The average patient age was 57.8 years old, with the majority being male [n = 55 (71.4%)] and of South Asian ethnicity [n = 53 (68.8%)]. Retinal artery diameter was negatively correlated with the SYNTAX score (-0.332 for the right eye, p = 0.003 and -0.237 for the left eye, p = 0.038). A statistically significant relationship was also demonstrated in females and diabetic patients. There were no serious adverse events (SAEs). CONCLUSION: A significantly negative correlation was observed between retinal artery diameter and SYNTAX score. This study alludes to the practical use of optical coherence tomography-angiography (OCT-A) as a noninvasive diagnostic modality for patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Further large-scale, multicentric studies are required to confirm these exploratory findings. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04233619.
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INTRODUCTION: This prospective study aimed to determine whether trimetazidine (TMZ) alters the pharmacodynamic (PD) effects of clopidogrel. METHODS: Patients with stable coronary artery disease (SCAD) (n = 24) who were actively treated with dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) of aspirin 81 mg daily and clopidogrel 75 mg daily were recruited. Platelet function was measured with the VerifyNow P2Y12 assay (Accriva Diagnostics, San Diego, CA, USA) and assessed before the initiation of and after 14 days of treatment with TMZ. Results were compared using a paired t test. RESULTS: Almost 80% of the study population were of South Asian descent and had diabetes mellitus (DM). P2Y12 reaction units (PRUs) were higher in patients on TMZ (204 ± 56 compared with 174 ± 71 before TMZ, p = 0.005). The average increase in PRU score was 29 (95% confidence interval 8.8-49.7). Before TMZ, the proportion of patients with high on-treatment platelet reactivity (PRU > 208 units) was 25%, which increased to 42% for patients on TMZ. CONCLUSION: Higher platelet reactivity was seen in patients on TMZ, suggesting that TMZ attenuated the PD effects of clopidogrel in this study of a predominantly South Asian diabetic subpopulation. Alternative therapies should be considered and further research is warranted. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03603249.