Use of evidence-based medicine for acute coronary syndromes in the elderly and very elderly: insights from the Sibrafiban vs aspirin to Yield Maximum Protection from ischemic Heart events postacute cOroNary sYndromes trials

Revascularization versus drug therapy for coronary artery disease in patients aged over 80 years: a real-world study

Background

Revascularization for the treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD) is advancing rapidly and is used increasingly in old patients. This study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of revascularization with drug therapy in CAD patients aged over 80 years at a real-world clinical setting.

Methods

A total of 501 CAD patients aged over 80 years were consecutively enrolled from January 2011 to January 2016 in Anzhen Hospital (Beijing, China), Capital Medical University. The patients were treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (n=283), coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) (n=106), or drug therapy (n=112). All-cause mortality, cardiovascular-related mortality, readmission rate, and Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ) score were compared between the three treatment methods.

Results

A total of 411 patients (82.04%) were followed with a median duration of 25 months. All-cause mortality and cardiovascular-related mortality in the drug therapy group were significantly higher than the PCI and CABG groups (both P<0.05). Readmission rate for cardiovascular events in the CABG group was significantly lower than the PCI and drug therapy groups (both P<0.05). Scores of physical limitation, angina frequency, treatment satisfaction, and disease perception of the SAQ in the PCI and CABG groups were significantly higher than the drug therapy group (both P<0.05). Scores of angina stability did not differ significant between the three groups (P=0.127).

Conclusions

Revascularization is superior to drug therapy in efficacy and safety in the treatment of oldest-old patients with CAD.

Health care utilisation and medication one year after myocardial infarction in Germany - a claims data analysis

BACKGROUND

After myocardial infarction, guidelines recommend pharmaceutical treatment with a combination of five different types of drugs for prevention in patients. However, studies from different countries have shown that this goal is not achieved in many patients. The aim of this study was to assess both healthcare and prescribed pharmaceutical treatment in the fourth quarter after index myocardial infarction.

METHODS

We conducted a claims data analysis with the data of patients who had had a myocardial infarction in the years 2013 or 2014, using information from the largest German health insurance fund ('AOK'). We analysed contact with physicians, hospital care and actual prescriptions for medication recommended in international guidelines, referring to beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers, P2Y12-antiplatelet agents, acetylsalicylic acid and statins, one year after myocardial infarction. Analysis was stratified by age and sex, compared between patient groups and over time.

RESULTS

We identified 2352 patients who had survived myocardial infarction. Some 96.9% of these participants had at least one contact with their general practitioner (GP) one year after myocardial infarction, 22.8% contacted a cardiologist and 19.7% were hospitalised. Prescription rates range from 37.8% for acetylsalicylic acid to 70.4% for ACE inhibitors. However, only 24.1% received statins, beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors and an antiplatelet drug simultaneously. Prescription of recommended drugs after myocardial infarction decreased steadily over time.

DISCUSSION

Long-term medical prevention after myocardial infarction is improvable. GPs should take care of the pharmaceutical prevention after myocardial infarction as they are the physicians seen most intensively in this period.

Platelet integrin αIIbβ3: signal transduction, regulation, and its therapeutic targeting

Integrins are a family of transmembrane glycoprotein signaling receptors that can transmit bioinformation bidirectionally across the plasma membrane. Integrin αIIbβ3 is expressed at a high level in platelets and their progenitors, where it plays a central role in platelet functions, hemostasis, and arterial thrombosis. Integrin αIIbβ3 also participates in cancer progression, such as tumor cell proliferation and metastasis. In resting platelets, integrin αIIbβ3 adopts an inactive conformation. Upon agonist stimulation, the transduction of inside-out signals leads integrin αIIbβ3 to switch from a low- to high-affinity state for fibrinogen and other ligands. Ligand binding causes integrin clustering and subsequently promotes outside-in signaling, which initiates and amplifies a range of cellular events to drive essential platelet functions such as spreading, aggregation, clot retraction, and thrombus consolidation. Regulation of the bidirectional signaling of integrin αIIbβ3 requires the involvement of numerous interacting proteins, which associate with the cytoplasmic tails of αIIbβ3 in particular. Integrin αIIbβ3 and its signaling pathways are considered promising targets for antithrombotic therapy. This review describes the bidirectional signal transduction of integrin αIIbβ3 in platelets, as well as the proteins responsible for its regulation and therapeutic agents that target integrin αIIbβ3 and its signaling pathways.

Determinants of invasive strategy in elderly patients with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction

Background

Knowledge gaps across literature prevent current guidelines from providing the profile of elderly patients most likely to derive benefit from invasive strategy (IS) in non ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). Furthermore, the benefit of IS in a real-world elderly population with NSTEMI remains unclear. The aims of this study were to determine factors that lead the cardiologist to opt for an IS in elderly patients with NSTEMI, and to assess the impact of IS on the 6-month all-cause mortality.

Methods

This multicenter prospective study enrolled all consecutive patients aged ≥ 75 years old who presented a NSTEMI and were hospitalized in cardiology intensive care unit between February 2014 and February 2015. Patients were compared on the basis of reperfusion strategy (invasive or conservative) and living status at six months, in order to determine multivariate predictors of the realization of an IS and multivariate predictors of 6-month mortality.

Results

A total of 141 patients were included; 87 (62%) underwent an IS. The strongest independent determinants of IS were younger age [odds ratio (OR): 0.85, 95%-confidence interval (CI): 0.78–0.92; P < 0.001) and lower “Cumulative Illness Rating Scale-Geriatric” number of categories score (OR: 0.83, 95%CI: 0.73–0.95; P = 0.002). IS was not significantly associated with 6-month survival (OR: 0.80, 95%CI: 0.27–2.38; P = 0.69).

Conclusions

In real-world elderly patients with NSTEMI, younger patients with fewer comorbidities profited more often from an IS. However, IS did not modify 6-month all-cause mortality.

Use of evidence-based therapy for the secondary prevention of acute coronary syndromes in Malaysian practice

RATIONALE

Despite the availability of various prevention guidelines on acute coronary syndrome (ACS), secondary prevention practice utilizing aspirin, beta-blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and statins still can be sub-optimal.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To review and document the utilization of pharmacotherapy for the secondary prevention of ACS in patients discharged from a Malaysian hospital.

METHODS

A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Penang, Malaysia. Patients with a primary diagnosis of ACS were identified from medical records over a 4-month period. A range of clinical data was extracted from medical records, including medical history, clinical presentation and pharmacotherapy both on admission and at discharge. This audit focused on the use of four guideline-recommended therapies: aspirin ± clopidogrel, beta-blockers, statins and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI)/angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs).

RESULTS

Data pertaining to a total of 380 ACS patients was extracted and reviewed, the mean age of the study population was 57.49 years and 73.9% of population was males. Patients with unstable angina accounted for 56.6% of the admissions whereas 23.4% and 20% of the patients were admitted for ST-elevation myocardial infarction and non-ST-segment elevation infarct respectively. 95.7% of the patients received antiplatelets comprising of at least aspirin, and 82% received aspirin plus clopidogrel. Furthermore, 80.3% of the patients received a beta-blocker at discharge, 95% a statin and 69.7% received either an ACEI or ARB. Compared with patients who presented with myocardial infarction (with or without ST-segment elevation), those presenting with unstable angina were less likely to receive the combination of aspirin plus clopidogrel or an ACEI/ARB at discharge. Patients over 65 years of age were also less likely to receive a beta-blocker at discharge, compared with younger patients.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a good adherence to evidence-based guidelines for the secondary prevention of ACS in this local setting. However, there is some potential underutilization in the older population and patients presenting with unstable angina.

Age differences in the adherence to treatment guidelines and outcome in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction

The aim of this study was to assess age differences in the utilization of class-I treatment guidelines and its effect on mortality in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The study included 1026 consecutive patients from the prospective nationwide Acute Coronary Syndrome Israeli Survey (ACSIS). Primary reperfusion was used less often among elderly (age>75 years) patients than among those aged 65-74 and <65 years (46%, 63%, 64%, respectively, p (for trend)=0.004). Class-I evidence-based medications (EBM) at discharge (aspirin, β-blockers, angiotensin converting-enzyme inhibitors=ACEI, angiotensin receptor-blockers=ARBs and statins) were less frequently prescribed to elderly compared to younger age-subgroup (44%, 61%, 57%, respectively; adjusted odds ratio (OR)=0.62; 0.40-0.97 for age ≥ 75 vs. age<65 years). Early and 1-year mortality rates were 3-5-fold higher among the elderly compared to patients <65 years. In the entire cohort use of primary reperfusion was associated with lower 1-year mortality (OR=0.69; 0.47-1.01), as was the use of EBM (OR=0.26; 0.17-0.41). These effects were similar across all age-subgroups but with a greater impact among the elderly, as the number of patients needed to treat (NNT) was significantly lower with advancing age. Better adherence to treatment guidelines may improve the prognosis of elderly patients with STEMI.

Use of Evidence-Based Therapy for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Events Among Older people

Evidence-based therapies (EBTs) for the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) are reportedly underutilized in older people. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of EBTs for the prevention of CVD events in older people and secondarily whether a Home Medicines Review (HMR) service by pharmacists’ predicts the use of these medicines. A retrospective cross-sectional audit of HMR reports pertaining to 608 community-dwelling older people (≥65 years) was conducted. EBTs considered for this audit included four guideline-recommended therapies for CVD: antithrombotic therapy (warfarin ± antiplatelet therapy), β-blockers, statins, and angiotensin agents (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors [ACEI] ± angiotensin II receptor blockers [ARBs]). The prevalence of EBT use among the older people, mean age (SD) 75.6 (7.5) years, was: 73% for antithrombotic therapy, 75% for statins, 74% for angiotensin therapy, and 35% for β-blockers. CVD risk factors warranting treatment with these EBTs were frequently associated with use of EBTs. EBTs were least likely to be used in those with coronary interventions like coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)/stent insertion (all EBTs except angiotensin agents) and angiotensin agents in those with a history of myocardial infarction or chronic heart failure. A pharmacist-led HMR service was significantly associated with the prescribing of all 4 EBTs. The results from this study show good adherence to evidence-based guidelines in general, although there is still room for improvement to further optimize clinical outcomes in these complex patients. The study also adds to the available literature on the effectiveness of pharmacists’ collaborative contribution to the care of these high-risk patients.

Influence of age on use of cardiac catheterization and associated outcomes in patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes

Randomized controlled trials support the use of an early invasive strategy in high-risk patients with non-ST-segment elevation (NSTE) acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Although risk increases with age, limited data are available to support this strategy in older patients. The aims of this study were to examine temporal trends in the management and outcomes of NSTE ACS in elderly patients and to explore reasons for the lower use of early angiography in the aged population. Data from 11,732 patients with NSTE ACS were collected from 3 consecutive Canadian registries (ACS I, ACS II, and Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events [GRACE]/GRACE2) from 1999 to 2007. Rates of in-hospital cardiac catheterization, revascularization, infarction or reinfarction, and death were stratified by age (<65, 65 to 74, and > or = 75 years). Although overall, rates of in-hospital catheterization and revascularization increased over time (p <0.001), the largest increase occurred in patients aged <65 years. The strongest independent negative predictor of the use of cardiac catheterization was age > or = 75 years (adjusted odds ratio 0.45, 95% confidence interval 0.37 to 0.56, p <0.001). Use of an early invasive approach was associated with a reduction in 1-year mortality across all age groups, but the absolute difference was greatest in patients aged > or = 75 years. The underestimation of risk by physicians (ascertained in ACS II) was the most common reason for choosing a conservative strategy. In conclusion, despite an overall increased use of an early invasive strategy, elderly patients with NSTE ACS remain significantly less likely to undergo cardiac catheterization and revascularization and are often erroneously perceived to be at low risk by their physicians. Future studies should determine whether more aggressive treatment of these high-risk elderly patients improves outcomes.