Safety and efficacy of prourokinase injection in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction: phase IV clinical trials of the prourokinase phase study

Intracoronary antithrombotic therapy during primary percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with STEMI: A systematic review and network meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

The efficacy of intracoronary (IC) antithrombotic therapy, which may best prevent the no-reflow phenomenon during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), remains unclear. Therefore, we compared the efficacy and safety of different IC antithrombotic agents.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) compared IC fibrinolytic agents (recombinant tissue plasminogen activators [rtPAs] and non-rtPAs) or glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors (small molecules and monoclonal antibodies) with placebo by searching the relevant studies published before September 21, 2022. Bayesian network meta-analyses were performed using random-effects models.

RESULTS

Twenty-five RCTs with 4546 patients were included. Non-rtPAs and small molecules were significantly more effective in achieving thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) grade 3 flow than placebo (odds ratio [OR] 2.28, 95 % credible intervals [CrI] 1.24-4.13; OR 2.06, 95 % CrI 1.17-3.46). Moreover, these agents' efficacy was observed in other microcirculation-related outcomes, including TIMI myocardial perfusion grade 3, complete ST-segment resolution, and corrected TIMI frame counts. Within 6 months, small molecules were associated with both an improved left ventricular ejection fraction (MD 3.90, 95 % CrI 0.48-7.46) and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) reduction (OR 0.36, 95 % CrI 0.20-0.61). Non-rtPAs demonstrated a reduced MACE incidence within 6 months (OR 0.51, 95 % CrI 0.31-0.81). The results were consistent in the subgroup with a total ischemic time > 6 h. No significant differences in mortality or bleeding events were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

IC non-rtPAs and small molecules may be effective for adjunctive therapy to PCI, particularly in patients with longer ischemia periods.

Hemorrhagic stroke during the acute phase of myocardial infarction: a rare and difficult situation to manage

Given the ischemic risk due to the hypercoagulability associated with acute coronary syndromes, the administration of antiplatelet and antithrombotic agents is necessary to prevent intracoronary and postprocedural thrombosis during percutaneous coronary interventions. However, the risk of bleeding, hemorrhagic stroke included, is real, although it has a lower prevalence, and it complicates the management of the coronary event if it happens. We report the case of a 66 years old patient with no prior pathological history who was initially admitted for acute coronary syndromes, complicated by paroxysmal atrial fibrillation that was successfully thrombolysed. Subsequently, the patient benefited from a drug-eluting stent angioplasty of the proximal circumflex artery, performed within 24 hours after the symptomatology onset. Following angioplasty, the patient presented with a left parietal intraparenchymal hematoma not indicating surgery. The double antiplatelet therapy was consequently withdrawn. Two days later, the patient presented with an ST-segment elevation infarction recurrence, inciting the resumption of the dual antiplatelet aggregation therapy. On evolution, the neurological state was still stable with a stationary aspect of the hematoma on cerebral imagery but without angina recurrence or electrocardiographic modifications. Hemorrhagic complications' occurrence following thrombolysis or angioplasty for ST-segment elevation infarction challenges the short and long-term management of the disease and must push practitioners to better weigh the risks and benefits before any medication administration decision.

Safety and efficacy of intracoronary recombinant human prourokinase administration in patients with acute myocardial infarction and ST‑segment elevation: A meta‑analysis of randomized controlled trials

Slow blood flow or no reflow following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) typically leads to an adverse prognosis. However, it is controversial whether to use prourokinase (Pro-UK) during PCI in patients with acute STEMI. The present meta-analysis compared the efficacy and safety of intracoronary Pro-UK administration in patients with acute STEMI. Published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were analyzed to compare Pro-UK with non-Pro-UK treatment in patients with acute STEMI. PubMed, Cochrane Library and China National Knowledge Infrastructure were searched and meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.3 software. A total of 13 RCTs were selected and 1,797 patients were considered in the meta-analysis, including 897 patients who received Pro-UK intervention and 900 patients who were in the control group. No significant heterogeneity was identified across these selected studies. Pro-UK therapy significantly decreased the incidence of major adverse cardiac events [risk ratio (RR), 0.68; 95% CI, 0.56-0.82, P<0.0001], left ventricular end-diastolic diameter [standardized mean difference (SMD), -0.26; 95% CI, -0.40 - -0.12; P=0.0003], corrected thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) frame count [SMD, -0.45; 95% CI, -0.62 - -0.28; P<0.00001] and cardiac troponin I [SMD, -0.31; 95% CI, -0.46 - -0.17; P<0.0001]. In addition, Pro-UK administration increased TIMI grade 3 flow (RR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.07-1.25; P=0.0003), TIMI myocardial perfusion grade 3 (RR: 1.39, 95% CI: 1.12-1.74, P=0.004), ST-segment resolution (RR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.10-1.36; P=0.0002) and left ventricular ejection fraction (SMD, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.27-0.49; P<0.00001). No significant difference was identified in bleeding (RR, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.85-1.47; P=0.41). The present meta-analysis determined that intracoronary Pro-UK administration is efficacious and safe to decrease slow blood flow or no reflow phenomena following PCI and improve the prognosis of patients with acute STEMI.

[Cardiac ruptures in acute myocardial infarction]

Presented in the article are the generalized data of the Russian and foreign literature addressing the currently important problem of myocardial ruptures as one of the most dangerous complications of infarction, also analysing the results of clinical studies on interconnection of heart ruptures with systemic thrombolytic therapy and with a percutaneous coronary intervention. This is followed by describing the mechanisms that may lead to myocardial rupture during thrombolytic therapy and surgical endovascular treatment, underlying the necessity of pharmacological pre- and post-conditioning for prevention of reperfusion myocardial lesions. The article also touches upon the clinical and instrumental diagnosis of myocardial ruptures, as well as approaches to surgical treatment depending on the type of rupture and necessity of myocardial revascularization.

Rationale and design of the OPTIMAL-REPERFUSION trial: A prospective randomized multi-center clinical trial comparing different fibrinolysis-transfer percutaneous coronary intervention strategies in acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction

Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI), the preferred reperfusion strategy for all acute ST‐segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients, is not universally available in clinical practice. Pharmacoinvasive strategy has been proposed as a therapeutic option in patients with STEMI when timely PPCI is not feasible. However, pharmacoinvasive strategy has potential delay between clinical patency and complete myocardial perfusion. The optimal reperfusion strategy for STEMI patients with anticipated PPCI delay according to current practice is uncertain. OPTIMAL‐REPERFUSION is an investigator‐initiated, prospective, multicenter, randomized, open‐label, superiority trial with blinded evaluation of outcomes. A total of 632 STEMI patients presenting within 6 hours after symptom onset and with an expected time of first medical contact to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) ≥120 minute will be randomized to a reduced‐dose facilitated PCI strategy (reduced‐dose fibrinolysis combined with simultaneous transfer for immediate invasive therapy with a time interval between fibrinolysis to PCI < 3 hours) or to standard pharmacoinvasive treatment. The primary endpoint is the composite of death, reinfarction, refractory ischemia, congestive heart failure, or cardiogenic shock at 30‐days. Enrollment of the first patient is planned in March 2021. The recruitment is anticipated to last for 12 to 18 months and to complete in September 2023 with 1 year follow‐up. The OPTIMAL‐REPERFUSION trial will help determine whether reduced‐dose facilitated PCI strategy improves clinical outcomes in patients with STEMI and anticipated PPCI delay. This study is registered with the ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04752345).

Fibrinolysis is a reasonable alternative for STEMI care during the COVID-19 pandemic

OBJECTIVE

No data are available to develop uniform recommendations for reperfusion therapies in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We aimed to fill the evidence gap regarding STEMI reperfusion strategy during the COVID-19 era.

METHODS

Clinical characteristics and outcomes for 17 patients with STEMI who received fibrinolysis during the COVID-19 pandemic were compared with 20 patients who received primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI), and were further compared with another 41 patients who received PPCI in the pre-COVID-19 period.

RESULTS

In patients with STEMI, fibrinolysis achieved a comparable in-hospital and 30-day primary composite end point, as compared with those who received PPCI during the COVID-19 pandemic. No major bleeding was detected in either group. Compared patients with STEMI who received PPCI in the pre-COVID-19 period, we found a remarkable extension of chest pain onset-to-first medical contact (FMC) and FMC-to-wire crossing times, significantly increased number and length of stents, and much worse thrombolysis in myocardial infarction flow in patients with STEMI who received PPCI during the COVID-19 pandemic.

CONCLUSION

Owing to its considerable efficacy and safety and advantages in conserving medical resources, we recommend fibrinolysis as a reasonable alternative for STEMI care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Effects of different strategies on high thrombus burden in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary catheterization

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed at evaluating efficacy and safety of thrombus aspiration and intracoronary-targeted thrombolysis on coronary thrombus burden in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients undergoing primary percutaneous catheterization, comparing their effects on myocardial perfusion through index of microcirculatory resistance (IMR) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).

PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS

From January 2017 to January 2018, STEMI patients with high thrombus burden undergoing primary catheterization were enrolled and randomly assigned to receiving thrombus aspiration (TA group) or intracoronary thrombolysis (IT group). IMR, SPECT, and other conventional measurements were adopted to assess myocardial perfusion. Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) and complications were recorded over a 90-day follow-up and a 12-month follow-up after the procedure.

RESULTS

The study consisted of 38 patients in the IT group and 33 in the TA group. After recanalization, thrombus burden score, corrected thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) frame count, the proportion of TIMI myocardial perfusion 3 grade, and IMR in the IT group were significantly better than those of the TA group (P<0.05). During the 90-day follow-up, no difference was observed in cardiac function and MACEs. During the 12-month follow-up, there were significant differences in infarct size of SPECT (18.56±8.56 vs. 22.67±7.66, P=0.046), left ventricular ejection fraction of echocardiography (58.13±5.92 vs. 55.17±5.68, P=0.043), and the composite MACEs between the two groups (P=0.034).

CONCLUSION

Thrombus aspiration and intracoronary-targeted thrombolysis are effective and safe strategies in managing high coronary thrombus burden in STEMI patients. Compared with aspiration, intracoronary-targeted thrombolysis is more beneficial in improving myocardial microcirculation perfusion.

Efficacy and safety of intracoronary prourokinase during percutaneous coronary intervention in treating ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients: a randomized, controlled study

Background

Prourokinase is a single-chain plasminogen activator presenting with fewer hemorrhagic complications and reduced reocclusion rate compared with the conventional fibrinolytic agents in patients with coronary artery disease. However, prourokinase intracoronary injection during PCI for treating patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is rarely investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of intracoronary prourokinase during the percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in treating STEMI patients.

Methods

Fifty STEMI patients who underwent primary PCI were consecutively enrolled and randomly assigned to intracoronary prourokinase group (N = 25) or control group (N = 25). During the primary PCI procedure, patients in the intracoronary prourokinase group received 10 ml prourokinase injection, while patients in control group received 10 ml saline injection as control. The primary endpoints were coronary physiological indexes, the secondary endpoints were angiographic assessments, myocardial infarct size/reperfusion assessment, cardiac function evaluations, major adverse coronary events (MACEs) and hemorrhagic complications. All patients were followed up for 3 months.

Results

Post PCI, the index of microcirculatory resistance (IMR) was decreased in intracoronary prourokinase group than that in control group (34.56 ± 7.48 vs. 49.00 ± 8.98, P < 0.001), while no difference of coronary flow reserve (CFR) (2.01 ± 0.32 vs. 1.88 ± 0.23, P = 0.267) or fractional flow reserve (FFR) (0.89 ± 0.05 vs. 0.87 ± 0.04, P = 0.121) was found between the two groups. The thrombolysis in myocardial infarction myocardial perfusion grade (TMPG) (P = 0.024), peak values of creatine kinase (CK) (P = 0.028), CK isoenzyme-MB (CK-MB) (P = 0.016), cardiac troponin I (cTnI) (P = 0.032) and complete ST-segment resolution (STR) (P = 0.005) were better in intracoronary prourokinase group compared with control group. At 3-months post PCI, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and wall motion score index (WMSI) were higher, while left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDd) was lower in intracoronary prourokinase group compared with control group (all P < 0.05). There was no difference in hemorrhagic complication or total MACE between the two groups.

Conclusion

Intracoronary prourokinase during PCI is more efficient and equally tolerant compared with PCI alone in treating STEMI patients.

Trial registration

Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR1800016207. Prospectively registered.

Thrombolysis with rhPro-UK 3 to 6 hours after embolic stroke in rat

Objectives: To investigate the thrombolysis with recombinant human prourokinase (rhPro-UK) on thromboembolic stroke in rats at different therapeutic time windows (TTW). Methods: Rats were subjected to embolic middle cerebral artery occlusion. RhPro-UK and positive control drugs rt-PA,UK were administered 3 h, 4.5 h, 6 h after inducing thromboem-bolic stroke. Neurological deficit scoring (NDS) was evaluated at 6 h and 24 h after the treatment. The lesion volume in cerebral hemispheres was measured by MRI scanning machine after 6 h of thrombolysis, and the infarct volume was measured by TTC stain, together with hemorrhagic volume quantified by a spectrophotometric assay after 24 h of thrombolysis. Results: RhPro-UK 10, 20 × 10⁴ U/kg significantly improved the NDS after cerebral thromboembolism in rats at 3 h, 4.5 h TTW, and at the 6 h TTW, the NDS was improved by 28.0% (P = 0.0690) and 29.2% (P = 0.0927) at 6 h and 24 h after rhPro-UK 20 ×10⁴ U/kg administration, respectively. RhPro-UK 10, 20 × 10⁴ U/kg significantly reduced the brain lesions measured by MRI at 3 h and 4.5 h TTW. RhPro-UK 10, 20 × 10⁴ U/kg significantly reduced the cerebral infarction measured by TTC at 3 h, 4.5 h TTW. There was no increase in cerebral hemorrhage compared with untreated group after rhPro-UK administration. Conclusions: RhPro-UK had an obvious therapeutic effect on ischemic stroke caused by thrombosis, and could be started within 4.5 h TTW with less side effects of cerebral hemorrhage than that of UK.

Cardiotonic Pills Plus Recombinant Human Prourokinase Ameliorates Atherosclerotic Lesions in LDLR-/- Mice

Aim

This study was to explore the protective effects of cardiotonic pills (CP) or/and recombinant human prourokinase (proUK)on the atherosclerosis and the potential underlying mechanism.

Methods and Results

Atherosclerosis was induced in LDLR^–/^– mice by high fat diet contained 20% lard and 0.5% cholesterol. Daily oral administration of CP (130 mg/kg) or/and intravenous injection of proUK (2.5 mg/kg, twice a week) began at 8 weeks after feeding with high fat diet and continued for 4 weeks. CP alone treatment markedly decreased plasma triglyceride, but did not ameliorate atherosclerosis plaque. No effect was observed for proUK alone on any endpoints tested. CP plus proUK induced a significantly reduction in the atherosclerotic lesions, along with decreased levels of total cholesterol, triglyceride in the plasma. CP plus proUK inhibited the elevated hepatic total cholesterol and triglyceride in high fat diet-fed LDLR^–/– mice, up-regulating the expressions of ATP-binding cassette gene 5 and 8, and adipose triglyceride lipase. In the aorta, CP plus proUK inhibited the expression of scavenger receptor A and CD36 in LDLR^–/– mice. In addition, we observed that systemic inflammation was inhibited, manifested downregulation of plasma macrophage inflammatory protein-1α and intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1.

Conclusion

CP plus proUK effectively attenuated atherosclerosis plaque in LDLR^–/– mice, which is associated with normalizing the lipid metabolism in the liver and aorta, reducing phagocytosis of receptor-mediated modified-LDL uptake and inhibiting systemic inflammation.

Comparison of the effect of recombinant human pro-urokinase and tirofiban on myocardial blood flow perfusion in ST elevation myocardial infarction patients receiving primary percutaneous coronary intervention: A one-center retrospective observational study

Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is associated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). The current study was performed to compare the effect of tirofiban and recombinant human pro-urokinase (rh-proUK) on the improvement of coronary slow blood after PPCI.Sixty-five ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients treated with rh-proUK and an equal number treated with tirofiban after PPCI were employed in the current study. The clinicopathological information regarding the biochemical parameters, thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) grade, hemodynamics parameters, thrombus core (TS), sum-STR, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), blood routine parameters, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) level, uric acid, hepatorenal function, electrocardiogram (ECG), and echocardiography before and after the interventions were collected. The differences in those parameters between the 2 groups then compared with assess the treatment effect and side effects associated with the both therapies.The results showed that the TIMI level post-intervention (P = .03), the proportion of TIMI myocardial perfusion grade level III (P = .04), the changes in thrombus score (P < .001) in rh-proUK group were significantly higher than those in tirofiban group while the corrected TIMI Frame Count (CTFC) (P = .02), the incidence of slow flow (P = .02), the thrombus score post-intervention (P < .001), the stent length (P = .02), and the number of receiving administration of sodium nitroprusside (P = .01) were significantly lower than those in tirofiban group. Moreover, the levels of CK (P < .001), CK-MB (P = .01), and NT-proBNP 24-hour post-intervention (P < .02) were significantly lower in rh-proUK group than those in tirofiban group and the sum-STR right after the intervention (P < .03) of rh-proUK group was significantly higher than that of tirofiban group. No significant difference was detected between the 2 therapies regarding major adverse cardiac events (MACE).The findings outlined in the current study showed that the improvement effect of rh-proUK on blood flow condition was stronger right after the intervention and the therapy had a similar safety when compared with tirofiban during a 30-day follow-up.