Abstract
IMPORTANCE: For patients presenting with symptomatic prosthetic valve thrombosis (PVT) after mechanical heart valve replacement, thrombolytic therapy with alteplase is accepted as a first-line therapeutic alternative. The utility of tenecteplase compared with conventional regimens remains unstudied, to the authors' knowledge, in this patient population. OBJECTIVE: To assess the relative safety and efficacy of tenecteplase compared with standard infusions of alteplase in patients with PVT. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: This was an open-label, parallel-group, non-inferiority randomized clinical trial among consecutive adult patients presenting with obstructive PVT of a mechanical prosthetic valve over the study period from October 2022 to August 2024 to a single tertiary care center in India. INTERVENTIONS: Patients received thrombolytic therapy with a low-dose slow infusion alteplase or weight-based bolus doses of tenecteplase. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcomes were to determine the rates of complete thrombolytic success and the incidence of major complications. RESULTS: A total of 83 patients (mean [SD] age, 39.6 [12.4] years, 42 male [50.6%]) were randomized to receive alteplase (n = 43) or tenecteplase (n = 40). The rates of the primary efficacy end point (complete thrombolytic success) were significantly higher (risk ratio, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.03-1.39; P = .02 for noninferiority) in the tenecteplase group (39 patients [97.5%]) compared with the alteplase group (35 patients [81.5%]). Additionally, patients treated with tenecteplase had higher rates of complete success with the first administered dose and a shorter duration of hospital stay (median [IQR], 4.1 [3.2-5.1] days vs 6.5 [4.3-9.2] days; P < .001). The rates of major and minor adverse events were similar. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Tenecteplase may be a safe and effective alternative to alteplase in patients presenting with obstructive PVT. Patients treated with tenecteplase in our study had higher rates of complete thrombolytic success and a shorter duration of hospital stay. Furthermore, the relative ease of drug administration with tenecteplase may translate to greater clinical benefit in a real-world setting. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trials Registry of India: CTRI/2022/10/046127.