Effect of bivalirudin on length of stay in the recovery area after percutaneous coronary intervention compared with heparin alone, heparin + abciximab, or heparin + eptifibatide.

Three hundred nine patients were followed during their recovery area stay after percutaneous coronary intervention. Recovery area times for patients who received bivalirudin during percutaneous coronary intervention showed an average reduction in total recovery area length of stay of 36 minutes (p <0.0001) compared with patients who received heparin alone. This reduction was also seen when compared with the heparin + abciximab group (46-minute reduction, p = 0.0007), and the heparin + eptifibatide group (35-minute reduction, p = 0.0005). Patients who received bivalirudin took significantly less time for the activated clotting time (ACT) to normalize despite significantly higher average ACTs and significantly fewer subtherapeutic ACTs.