Impact of thrombus aspiration on angiographic and clinical outcomes in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction

Manual Aspiration Thrombectomy in Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Clinical Experience

Multiple clinical studies have failed to establish the role of routine use of thrombectomy in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients. There is a paucity of data on the impact of thrombectomy in unselected STEMI patients outside clinical trials. We sought to evaluate the clinical variables and outcomes associated with the performance of thrombectomy in STEMI patients. We retrospectively examined the clinical outcomes in all STEMI patients who underwent successful percutaneous intervention (PCI) at our center. Patients were divided into two groups, one with patients who underwent conventional PCI and another with patients who had thrombus aspiration in addition to conventional PCI. We compared the baseline clinical characteristics, laboratory investigations, re-infarction rates, and all-cause mortality. Total 477 consecutive STEMI patients were identified. Overall, 29% (139) of the patients underwent conventional PCI and 71% (338) of the patients were treated with aspiration thrombectomy and PCI. In addition to the presence of thrombus, patients with nonanterior infarction, and patients with hemodynamic instability requiring intra-aortic balloon pump support were more likely to undergo thrombectomy. Thrombectomy was associated with higher enzymatic infarction (creatine kinase: 2,796 [2,575] vs. 1,716 [1,662]; p < 0.0001; CK-MB: 210.6 [156.0] vs. 142.0 [121.9], p < 0.0001). However, thrombectomy was not associated with any difference in 30 day reinfarction rate (3.3 vs. 2.9%, p = 0.83), mortality (5.0 vs. 7.2%, p = 0.35), or composite of death and 30 day reinfarction (7.7 vs. 9.4%, p = 0.55). We observed that STEMI patients with anterior infarction and hemodynamic instability were more likely to undergo thrombectomy during primary PCI.

Ischemic Hepatitis as the Presenting Manifestation of Cardiac Amyloidosis

An abrupt elevation in aminotransferases without clear etiology may be attributed to hypoxic hepatitis. Underlying cardiac dysfunction, an important clinical clue, is often overlooked as a cause of hypoxic hepatitis, and understanding the interdependence of the heart and liver is crucial in making this diagnosis. Causes of cardiac dysfunction may include any of many different diagnoses; infiltrative heart disease is a rare cause of cardiac dysfunction, with amyloidosis being the most common among this category of pathologies. More advanced imaging techniques have improved the ability to diagnose infiltrative heart disease, thus allowing quicker diagnosis of conditions such as amyloidosis.

The impact of intracoronary thrombus aspiration on STEMI outcomes

BACKGROUND

Manual coronary thrombus aspiration was associated with improved outcomes of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients. We aimed to evaluate the outcome of aspiration in a "real-world" setting of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI).

METHODS AND MATERIALS

We analyzed the outcome of STEMI patients who underwent PPCI (initial Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction flow grade 0/1), comparing patients who underwent aspiration (ASP) to those who had standard (STD) therapy. Various subgroups outcomes were further analyzed. Clinical end points included mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) at 30 days and at 1 year.

RESULTS

One thousand thirty-five consecutive patients were included: 189 (18.26%) with ASP and 846 (81.74%) with STD. ASP patients were younger (58±12 vs. 61±13, P<.05) and had higher incidence of direct stenting compared to STD patients (34% vs. 16.7%, P<.05). No significant differences were noted in the outcome of ASP vs. STD at 30 days (mortality rate 4.2% vs. 4.5%, P=.9; MACE 6.9% vs. 9.8%, P=.2) and at 1 year (mortality rate 8.0% vs. 8.3%, P=.9; MACE 20.0% vs. 22.3%, P=.5). A significant advantage in favor of ASP was evident in patients with proximal culprit lesions, anterior infarcts, and right ventricular involvement.

CONCLUSIONS

Although this was largely a negative study, when STEMI involved a large jeopardized myocardium, aspiration was associated with sustained improved clinical outcomes.

Clinical predictors for failure of percutaneous coronary intervention in ST-elevation myocardial infarction

BACKGROUND

Failed percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is associated with adverse outcome. With recent improvements in PCI techniques, the incidence and predictors for failed primary PCI are unclear.

METHODS

A clinical database of consecutive patients who underwent primary or rescue PCI from 1993 to 2011 was used to compare patients with successful versus failed PCI. Clinical follow-up was obtained in-hospital, at 30 days and at 1 year.

RESULTS

Of 2900 patients fulfilling our inclusion criteria, 111 (3.98%) had failed PCI. Patients who had failed PCI were older (65 vs. 61 years), were more likely to be women (46% vs. 32%), were more likely to have previous peripheral vascular disease (19% vs. 11%), previous PCI (29% vs. 20%), and were more likely to present with cardiogenic shock (25% vs. 11%) (all P < 0.05). Multivariable logistic regression analysis identified female gender (OR 1.54; 95% CI 1.01-2.38), cardiogenic shock (2.07; 1.22-3.49), previous PCI (1.71; 1.08-2.70), and type C lesion (2.47; 1.60-3.82) as independent predictors of PCI failure. The in-hospital (18% vs. 4%) and long-term mortality (48% vs. 14%) were worse in the failed PCI group compared to the successful group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

In patients with STEMI, primary PCI failure is uncommon. It is associated with worse short- and long-term clinical outcome compared with a successful procedure. Special care should be taken when PCI is performed in women at higher risk for failure when presenting with STEMI.