Angiographic and Long-Term Outcomes of “Rescue” Stenting versus PTCA in Failed Thrombolysis in Acute Myocardial Infarction

Early and long term outcome of rescue percutaneous coronary intervention (R-PCI): experience from a tertiary care center in Pakistan: outcome of rescue angioplasty in Pakistan

BACKGROUND

Thrombolysis is the standard of care for STEMI in Pakistan. Failed thrombolysis has a very high morbidity and mortality. Rescue PCI then remains the only option to salvage the myocardium. We sought to analyze the angiographic, immediate and long term clinical outcome of patients undergoing Rescue PCI at our institution in Karachi, Pakistan.

METHODS

58 consecutive patients who underwent rescue PCI for failed thrombolysis between 2002 and 2005 were reviewed. Clinical characteristics, angiographic and procedural details with clinical outcomes including total mortality, recurrent angina, and repeat revascularization were studied. Sources included cardiac catheterization lab database, medical records and follow up at outpatient clinics.

RESULTS

Rescue PCI was performed in 58 patients with a mean age 55 +/- 12 years with 47 (79%) male and 11 (21%) females. CAD risk factors were hypertension (53%), dyslipidemia (48%), smoking (34%) and diabetes (34%). 53% had anterior MI, 39% inferior and 8% had a lateral wall MI. The median time frames were: onset of chest pain to ER = 99 min, door to needle time = 35 min, ER to procedure start time = 250 min. The culprit vessels were: Left Anterior Descending (LAD) (53%), Right Coronary Artery (RCA) (32%) and Circumflex (CX) (15%). TIMI flow grades pre-procedural were 0/I = 52%, II = 34%, III = 14% and post procedure 0/I = 8%, II = 6%, III = 86%. The mean follow-up duration was 16.15 months at which 50 (86%) were alive and 43 (74.13%) had event free survival.

CONCLUSION

Procedural success, event free survival and mortality in our series of Rescue PCI from Pakistan are comparable to recent international trials and registries. It should be considered as a reasonable option for patients with failed thrombolysis.

A meta-analysis of randomized trials of rescue percutaneous coronary intervention after failed fibrinolysis

Previous trials have suggested clinical benefit with rescue percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) after failed fibrinolysis, but more recent, larger studies are conflicting. Therefore, we designed a meta-analysis to determine whether rescue PCI improves outcomes compared with conservative therapy in the setting of early failure of fibrinolysis. We searched MEDLINE for randomized trials by using the Medical Subject Heading terms "angioplasty," "myocardial infarction," "thrombolytic therapy," and "fibrinolysis." The inclusion criteria were (1) acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction initially treated with fibrinolytics, (2) randomization of patients with failed fibrinolysis to immediate PCI or conservative therapy, and (3) available short-term clinical outcome data. The primary end point was short-term mortality and secondary end points were thromboembolic stroke and heart failure. Numbers of events were tabulated for each trial and risk ratios (RRs) were computed. Five trials were included for analysis. The pooled RR estimates showed a 36% decrease in the risk of death in the rescue arm (RR 0.64, 95% confidence interval 0.41 to 1.00, p=0.048) and a marginally significant 28% decrease in the risk of heart failure (RR 0.72, 95% confidence interval 0.51 to 1.01, p=0.06). We also found a marginally increased risk of thromboembolic stroke in the rescue arm (RR 3.61, 95% confidence interval 0.91 to 14.27, p=0.07). In conclusion, rescue PCI in the setting of early fibrinolytic failure improves mortality, but this is tempered by a possible increase in the risk of thromboembolic stroke.

The evolving role of rescue therapy for acute myocardial infarction

Coronary reperfusion for acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction can be accomplished with fibrinolytic therapy or with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Primary PCI provides more effective and sustained early reperfusion than fibrinolytic therapy, but is only available in a minority of hospitals worldwide. There is a lack of a definite method for identification of patients who have inadequate reperfusion after fibrinolysis. Transfer of patients after fibrinolysis for diagnostic angiography and possible rescue therapy is safe and feasible. Rescue PCI with the use of stents and antiplatelet therapy decreases cardiovascular mortality and morbidity compared with conservative therapy. Increasing use of primary PCI and forming networks to transfer patients to centers that offer primary PCI may decrease the need for rescue therapy in the future.