Duration of antiplatelet therapy cessation before coronary artery bypass surgery: Relation with platelet count.

As of now, no study or data is available to determine the period of discontinuation of antiplatelet therapy and the timing of elective surgery in clopidogrel treated patients. The 2011 ACCF/AHA Guidelines have a Class-I recommendation for withdrawing clopidogrel for 5 days before elective coronary artery bypass grafting. However, 5 days period may not suit all patients as platelet count varies from 150 × 10(9)/L to 450 × 10(9)/L. Based on our retrospective data analysis, we have proposed a hypothesis to determine no of days of discontinuation of antiplatelet therapy while taking in consideration the basal count and life-span of platelets.