Relation between clopidogrel active metabolite levels and different platelet aggregation methods in patients receiving clopidogrel and aspirin

Clopidogrel is a prodrug that undergoes bioconversion via cytochrome P450 system to form an active metabolite (AM) that binds to the platelet ADP receptor. The antiplatelet effect of clopidogrel is commonly assessed by measuring the aggregatory response to 5 μM ADP by light transmission aggregation (LTA) or multiple electrode aggregometry (MEA) or by the vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein platelet reactivity index (VASP-PRI). To determine which of these three tests of platelet ADP receptor pathway inhibition most closely correlates with clopidogrel AM levels. We analyzed blood samples from 82 patients with coronary artery disease who were randomized to receive double-dose or standard dose clopidogrel for 2 weeks. We measured peak clopidogrel AM levels, platelet aggregation in response to ADP and VASP-PRI on days 1, and repeated all the measures on days 7 and 14. Linear regression analysis was used to examine the correlation between clopidogrel AM and LTA, MEA and VASP-PRI. Bland–Altman plots were used to explore the agreement between tests of the antiplatelet effects of clopidogrel. Clopidogrel AM on day 1 correlated most closely with VASP-PRI (r = −0.5767) and demonstrated weaker correlations with LTA (r = −0.4656) and MEA (r = −0.3384) (all p < 0.01). Intra-class correlation (ICC) between VASP-PRI and LTA was 0.6446; VASP-PRI and MEA was 0.4720; and LTA and MEA was 0.4693. Similar results were obtained on days 7 and 14. Commonly used pharmacodynamic measures of clopidogrel response are only moderately correlated with clopidogrel AM levels and may not be suitable to measure the adequacy of clopidogrel therapy.