Combination therapy reduces the incidence of no-reflow after primary per-cutaneous coronary intervention in patients with ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction. J Geriatr Cardiol. 2015;12:135-142. [PMID: 25870616 PMCID: PMC4394328 DOI: 10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2015.02.003]

Sodium nitroprusside injection immediately before balloon inflation during percutaneous coronary intervention

BACKGROUND

No reflow or slow flow frequently occurs during percutaneous coronary inter-vention (PCI) and it is associated with adverse outcomes. Strategies should be undertaken to prevent its occurrence.

AIM

To observe whether conventional target intracoronary administration of sodium nitroprusside immediately before balloon inflation can reduce the incidence of no reflow and slow flow, which are defined as thrombolysis in myocardial infarction flow grade ≤ II during PCI.

METHODS

A retrospective study was conducted in 740 patients with coronary artery disease admitted to Gansu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine between January 2016 and October 2020. Among them, 360 patients receiving sodium nitroprusside immediately before balloon inflation during PCI were enrolled in an experimental group between January 2019 and October 2020 and 380 patients receiving sodium nitroprusside after incident no reflow and slow flow during PCI were enrolled in a control group between January 2016 and January 2019. The occurrence of no reflow and slow flow was compared between the two groups and left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were detected 1 mo after the operation.

RESULTS

After treatment, the proportion of patients with thrombolysis in myocardial infarction flow grades 0 to II was lower in the experimental group than in the control group (P < 0.05). At 1 mo after treatment, LVEDD was lower and LVEF was higher in the experimental group than in the control group (P < 0.05). In terms of incidence of adverse cardiovascular events within 1 mo after treatment, in the experimental group, malignant arrhythmia occurred in three patients, intractable myocardial ischemia in three, congestive heart failure in four, and recurrent myocardial infarction in five; one patient died. In the control group, malignant arrhythmia occurred in eight patients, intractable myocardial ischemia in five, congestive heart failure in seven, and recurrent myocardial infarction in 14; two patients died. The incidence of adverse cardiovascular events was 4.4% in experimental group which was lower than that of the control group at 1 mo after operation (9.5%; P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Administration of sodium nitroprusside into target vessels immediately before balloon inflation can significantly reduce the incidence of no reflow and slow flow, improve LVEDD and LVEF, and reduce the incidence of adverse cardio-vascular events in patients treated by PCI. It is worthy of clinical promotion.

No-reflow phenomenon and comparison to the normal-flow population postprimary percutaneous coronary intervention for ST elevation myocardial infarction: case-control study (NORM PPCI)

Introduction

No-reflow (NR) phenomenon is characterised by the failure of myocardial reperfusion despite the absence of mechanical coronary obstruction. NR negatively affects patient outcomes, emphasising the importance of prediction and management. The objective was to evaluate the incidence and independent predictors of NR in patients presenting with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

Methods

This was a single-centre prospective case–control study. Cases were subjects who suffered NR, and the control comparators were those who did not. Clinical outcomes were documented. Salient variables relating to the patients and their presentation, history and angiographical findings were compared using one-way analysis of variance or χ² test. Multiple regression determined the independent predictors, and a risk score was established based on the β coefficient.

Results

Of 173 consecutive patients, 24 (13.9%) suffered from NR, with 46% occurring post stent implantation. Patients with NR had increased risk of in-hospital death (OR 7.0, 95% CI 1.3 to 36.7, p=0.022). From baseline variables available prior to percutaneous coronary intervention, the independent predictors of NR were increased lesion complexity, admission systolic hypertension, weight of <78 kg and history of hypertension. Continuous data were transformed into best-fit binary variables, and a risk score was defined. Significant difference was demonstrated between the risk score of patients with NR (4.1±1) compared with controls (2.6±1) (p<0.001), and the risk score was considered a good test (area under the curve=0.823). A score of ≥4 had 75% sensitivity and 76.5% specificity.

Conclusion

Patients with NR have a higher rate of mortality following STEMI. Predictors of NR include lesion complexity, systolic hypertension and low weight. Further validation of this risk model is required.

Initiate Danhong Injection before or after percutaneous coronary intervention for microvascular obstruction in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (DIRECTION): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

No treatment has convincingly been proven to be beneficial for microvascular obstruction (MVO) in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Several studies have described the effects of Danhong Injection. However, evidence of a rigorously designed verification study is still lacking, and the intervention timing of Danhong Injection is uncertain.

METHODS

The DIRECTION study is a multicenter, prospective, randomized, evaluator-blind study. A total of 336 patients with STEMI receiving percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) will be randomly assigned to conventional treatment, the preoperative Danhong Injection, or the postoperative Danhong Injection. The primary outcome is rate of ST-segment resolution (STR) ≥ 70% at 90 min after PCI. The secondary outcomes are the degree of STR, Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) flow grade, TIMI myocardial perfusion grade, left ventricular ejection fraction, N-terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and infarct size expressed as area under the curve for cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and for creatine kinase MB. The major adverse cardiovascular events and hospital readmission events will be recorded. Health quality will be assessed with the 12-item Short Form Health Survey. The safety outcomes include bleeding events, adverse events, and abnormal changes in routine blood tests. Psychological status and dietary patterns will be evaluated using Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and Food Frequency Questionnaire as the relevant indicators.

DISCUSSION

This trial will evaluate the efficacy and safety of Danhong Injection, as well as its optimal timing of intervention to prevent MVO in patients with STEMI.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR1900021440. Registered on February 21, 2019.

Effects of intracoronary injection of nicorandil and tirofiban on myocardial perfusion and short-term prognosis in elderly patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction after emergency PCI

BACKGROUND

This study investigated the effects of the intracoronary injection of nicorandil and tirofiban on myocardial perfusion and short-term prognosis in elderly patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) after emergency percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

METHODS

Seventy-eight STEMI patients with age >65 years who underwent emergency PCI were consecutively enrolled. These patients received conventional PCI and were randomly divided into a control group and a treatment group (n=39 per group). The control group received an intracoronary injection of tirofiban followed by a maintenance infusion for 36 hours after surgery. The treatment group received intracoronary injection of tirofiban and nicorandil, and then intravenous infusion of tirofiban and nicorandil 36 hours after surgery. The following parameters were measured: TIMI grade, corrected TIMI frame count (cTFC), TIMI myocardial perfusion grade (TMPG), ST-segment resolution (STR) rate 2 hours post-operatively, resolution of ST-segment elevation (STR) at 2 hours postoperatively, peak level of serum CK-MB, left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDD) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) at 7-10 days postoperatively, and major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) in-hospital and within 30 days post-operatively.

RESULTS

Compared with the control group, more patients in the treatment group had TIMI 3 and TMPG 3, and STR after PCI was significantly higher. The treatment group also had significantly lower cTFC, lower infarction relative artery (IRA), lower peak CK-MB, and no reflow ratio after PCI. The treatment group had significantly higher LVEDD and LVEF but lower incidence of MACEs than the control group.

CONCLUSION

The intracoronary injection of nicorandil combined with tirofiban can effectively improve myocardial reperfusion in elderly STEMI patients after emergency PCI and improve short-term prognoses.

Intracoronary Nicorandil and the Prevention of the No-Reflow Phenomenon During Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients with Acute ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction

Background

This study aimed to investigate intracoronary nicorandil treatment on the no-reflow phenomenon (NRP) during primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and to compare nicorandil with sodium nitroprusside.

Material/Methods

Patients with sustained acute STEMI who underwent primary PCI (N=120) were randomly assigned to three groups: the nicorandil-treated group (N=40) had 2 mg of nicorandil injected into the coronary artery at 2 mm beyond the occlusion with balloon pre-dilation; the sodium nitroprusside-treated group (N=40) underwent the same procedure, but with 200 μg of sodium nitroprusside; the control group (N=40) received PCI and balloon pre-dilation only. Coronary angiography, incidence of NRP, hypotensive episodes, ST-segment resolution (STR) rate, levels of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB), cardiac troponin I (cTnI), wall motion score index (WMSI), and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were measured before and after primary PCI. Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) post-PCI and at three-month follow-up were recorded.

Results

Patients in the sodium nitroprusside and nicorandil groups had significantly improved thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) scores, TIMI myocardial perfusion grade (TMPG), and ST-segment elevation resolution (STR) (P<0.05), and a significantly lower incidence of NRP (P=0.013). The incidence of intraoperative hypotension in the sodium nitroprusside group was significantly greater than the nicorandil and control groups (P=0.035).

Conclusions

Patients with sustained acute STEMI undergoing primary PCI, treated with intracoronary nicorandil had a reduced incidence of the NRP, improved myocardial perfusion and cardiac function.

Effect of chronic pretreatment with beta-blockers on no-reflow phenomenon in diabetic patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention

Background

No-reflow is an important factor as it predicts a poor outcome in patients undergoing primary angioplasty. In comparison with patients attaining TIMI 3 flow, patients with no-reflow have an increased incidence of ventricular arrhythmias, early congestive cardiac failure, cardiac rupture and cardiac death. As such, it is of paramount importance to consider strategies to prevent the occurrence of no-reflow phenomenon. Previous evidence suggests that Beta (β) blockers have multiple favorable effects on the vascular system not directly related to their effect on blood pressure. However, there are insufficient data regarding the effects of prior Beta blocker use on coronary blood flow after primary PCI in patients with AMI.

Aim

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that Beta blocker treatment before admission would have beneficial effects on the development of the no-reflow phenomenon after acute myocardial infarction.

Methods and results

The study included 107 diabetic patients who had presented with acute STEMI within 12 h from the onset of chest pain. All of them have undergone primary angioplasty at Ain Shams University hospitals or National Heart institute. The incidence of no-reflow phenomenon was 21%. No-reflow phenomenon was significantly lower in patients on chronic B-blocker therapy (12% vs. 28%; P = 0.04). The heart rate was significantly lower in the normal reflow group than in the no-reflow group (P = 0.03). The study also showed that B-blocker pretreatment is an independent protective predictor for the no-reflow phenomenon (P = 0.045).

Conclusion

Chronic pre-treatment with B-blocker in diabetic patients presenting with STEMI, is associated with lower rate of occurrence of no-reflow phenomenon after primary PCI.

Evaluation of related factors, prediction and treatment drugs of no-reflow phenomenon in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction after direct PCI

This study determined the related factors of no-reflow phenomenon in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) after direct percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and evaluated related factor scores in predicting the occurrence of no-reflow phenomenon and drug treatments. A total of 203 patients with acute STEMI receiving PCI who were admitted to the Department of Cardiovascularology, Xiangyang No. 1 People's Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine (Xiangyang, China) from January 2015 to December 2016 were selected. The clinical and image data were analyzed to determine the related factors of no-reflow phenomenon after operation, and related factor scores were quantified to predict the occurrence of no-reflow phenomenon. Three drugs (diltiazem, nitroglycerin and tirofiban needles) were continuously injected in coronary arteries of patients with no-reflow phenomenon, and the effects of these drugs were analyzed. There were 38 patients (18.7%) with no-reflow phenomenon. The correlation analysis showed that 10 factors were associated with no-reflow phenomenon, in which five factors were identified as risk factors, including IRA open-up time ≥8 h, SBP <100 mmHg, Hs-CRP >18 mg/l, thrombus loads, length of the culprit vessel ≥20 mm. The score analysis of related factors of 38 patients with no-reflow phenomenon was conducted. Three points were set for five risk factors each, and 1 point was set for the other five factors each. It was found that the score was approximately normally distributed. The average was 11.5±1.57 points and the lower limit of 95% confidence interval was >8.93 points. The effective rates of three drugs were different (P<0.05), and the pairwise comparison showed their effective rates were not fully identical (P<0.05). The results showed that: i) Τhere are 10 related factors, including five risk factors; ii) related factors with the score ≥9 points can be used for clinical prediction of STEMI after direct PCI; and iii) it is obviously effective to use diltiazem needle and tirofiban needle to treat no-reflow phenomenon, but this conclusion lacks statistical support.

Effect of CXCR3/HO-1 genes modified bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells on small bowel transplant rejection

AIM

To investigate whether bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) modified with the HO-1 and CXCR3 genes can augment the inhibitory effect of BMMSCs on small bowel transplant rejection.

METHODS

Lewis rat BMMSCs were cultured in vitro. Third-passage BMMSCs were transduced with the CXCR3/HO-1 genes or the HO-1 gene alone. The rats were divided into six groups and rats in the experimental group were pretreated with BMMSCs 7 d prior to small bowel transplant. Six time points (instant, 1 d, 3 d, 7 d, 10 d, and 14 d) (n = 6) were chosen for each group. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to observe pathologic rejection, while immunohistochemistry and Western blot were used to detect protein expression. Flow cytometry was used to detect T lymphocytes and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect cytokines.

RESULTS

The median survival time of BMMSCs from the CXCR3/HO-1 modified group (53 d) was significantly longer than that of the HO-1 modified BMMSCs group (39 d), the BMMSCs group (26 d), and the NS group (control group) (16 d) (P < 0.05). Compared with BMMSCs from the HO-1 modified BMMSCs, BMMSCs, and NS groups, rejection of the small bowel in the CXCR3/HO-1 modified group was significantly reduced, while the weight of transplant recipients was also significantly decreased (P < 0.05). Furthermore, IL-2, IL-6, IL-17, IFN-γ, and TNF-α levels were significantly decreased and the levels of IL-10 and TGF-β were significantly increased (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

BMMSCs modified with the CXCR3 and HO-1 genes can abrogate the rejection of transplanted small bowel more effectively and significantly increase the survival time of rats that receive a small bowel transplant.

Consensus Document of the Italian Association of Hospital Cardiologists (ANMCO), Italian Society of Cardiology (SIC), Italian Association of Interventional Cardiology (SICI-GISE) and Italian Society of Cardiac Surgery (SICCH): clinical approach to pharmacologic pre-treatment for patients undergoing myocardial revascularization procedures

The wide availability of effective drugs in reducing cardiovascular events together with the use of myocardial revascularization has greatly improved the prognosis of patients with coronary artery disease. The combination of antithrombotic drugs to be administered before the knowledge of the coronary anatomy and before the consequent therapeutic strategies, can allow to anticipate optimal treatment, but can also expose the patients at risk of bleeding that, especially in acute coronary syndromes, can significantly weigh on their prognosis, even more than the expected theoretical benefit. In non ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes patients in particular, we propose a 'selective pre-treatment' with P2Y12 inhibitors, based on the ischaemic risk, on the bleeding risk and on the time scheduled for the execution of coronary angiography. Much of the problems concerning this issue would be resolved by an early access to coronary angiography, particularly for patients at higher ischaemic and bleeding risk.

Clinical effect of preoperative high-dose atorvastatin against no-reflow after PCI

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the use of preoperative high-dose atorvastatin to prevent the no-reflow phenomenon after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). A total of 138 patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, admitted from March 2014 to January 2015, were enrolled and randomly divided into 3 groups of 46 individuals each. The groups included a control group in which patients were not treated with atorvastatin before PCI; a conventional-dose atorvastatin treatment group in which patients received a single dose of 20 mg at bedtime one day prior to PCI; and a high-dose atorvastatin treatment group in which patients were treated with 40 mg divided in two doses the day before PCI. The treatment effects were assessed by re-examining the echocardiography, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels after the PCI. The follow-up examinations included determinations of ultrasound imaging indicators and the contact with patients was maintained for a whole year. The CTFC (frame), pro-BNP, CK-MB peak and WMSI levels of the patients in the high-dose treatment group were significantly lower than those in the conventional dose or the control group. Trombolysis in myocardial infarction ≤2 and myocardial blush grade ≤1 levels were significantly lower than those in the conventional dose group (P=0.01) or those in the control group (P=0.01), although the echocardiographic indicators of the three groups were not significantly different (P<0.05). Nevertheless, it was found that there were significantly fewer adverse cardiovascular events in the high-dose group (P<0.05 in both cases). During the follow-up period, thromboembolism and restenosis were most infrequent in the high-dose atorvastatin group. Based on our findings the oral administration of high-dose atorvastatin before bedtime, one day before the procedure, can effectively prevent no-reflow cases, reduce adverse events and improve the long-term prognosis for acute coronary syndrome patients after PCI.

Efficacy and Safety of Thrombectomy Combined with Intracoronary Administration of Tirofiban in ST-segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI)

Background

No/slow reflow gives rise to serious complications in STEMI patients undergoing PCI, and can lead to worse outcomes. Several measures are used to prevent no/slow reflow, including thrombus removal processes and intensive use of anticoagulant agents. Our study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of thrombectomy and intracoronary administration of GPIIb/IIIa inhibitors in STEMI patients undergoing PPCI.

Material/Methods

We randomly assigned 240 STEMI patients into 3 groups. Before PPCI, patients in group A received thrombectomy and intracoronary administration of tirofiban. Patients in group B received thrombectomy, and patients in group C neither of these 2 treatments. Their demographic data and coronary angiography results were recorded. TIMI grade flow was used to evaluate the effect. After the follow-up, major adverse cardiac events were regarded as study endpoints in evaluating the safety of the combined therapy.

Results

We found no significant differences among the 3 groups in demographic and clinical characteristics (p>0.05). Patients in group A had better TIMI grade classifications and ST-segment elevation (p=0.005), and lower incidence of no/slow reflow (p=0.031) and MACE. During 6-month follow-up, the MACE rate was lower in group A than in groups B and C (p=0.038).

Conclusions

The use of thrombectomy combined with intracoronary administration of tirofiban is relatively effective and safe in STEMI patients undergoing PPCI.