Renal Dysfunction on Admission Predicts No-Reflow Phenomenon in Patients Undergoing Manual Thrombus Aspiration during Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

A Nomogram model for predicting the occurrence of no-reflow phenomenon after percutaneous coronary intervention using the lncRNA TUG1/miR-30e/NPPB biomarkers

Background

Studies have shown that percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is considered as the essential therapeutic strategy for the patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). However; no-reflow could still occur in a few patients after PCI. Studies have reported that biomarkers related to no-reflow pathogenetic components could play a prognostic role in the prediction phenomenon. Hence, this study explored the establishment of nomogram model for predicting the occurrence of no-reflow phenomenon after PCI using the lncRNA TUG1/miR-30e/NPPB biomarkers in patients with STEMI after PCI.

Methods

In this observational study, a total of 76 STEMI patients who underwent emergency PCI between January 2018 and December 2021were included. The patients after PCI, were divided into reflow (n=44) and no-reflow groups (n=32). The demographic, environmental and clinical risk factors were assessed and analysed between the groups. Quantitative RT-PCR was used to detect TUG1, miR-30e, and NPPB messenger RNA (mRNA) expression levels in the plasma of patients after PCI. Bioinformatic methods were used to predict the interaction of the plasma TUG1/miR-30e/NPPB axis. The risk factors in the no-reflow group were screened using a logistic-regression analysis, and a nomogram prediction model was constructed and validated. Subsequently, a gene set enrichment analysis revealed the function of lncRNA TUG1.

Results

Plasma lncRNA TUG1 and NPPB were more highly expressed and miR-30e was more lowly expressed in the no-reflow group than the normal-reflow group (P<0.001). A negative correlation was observed between lncRNA TUG1 and miR-30e, and between miR-30e and NPPB. However, a positive correlation was observed between lncRNA TUG1 and NPPB mRNA. The bioinformatics analysis predicted multiple binding sites on the lncRNA TUG1 and miR-30e. LncRNA TUG1 [odds ratio (OR): 0.163, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.021–0.944] and hs-CRP (OR: 2.151, 95% CI: 1.536–3.974) found to be as independent predictors. The C-index of this prediction model was 0.982 (95% CI: 0.956–1.000).

Conclusions

TUG1 could function as an effective biomarker for no-reflow among patients with STEMI after PCT and the proposed nomogram may provide information for individualized treatment in patients with STEMI.

Clinical, Laboratory, and Procedural Predictors of No-Reflow in Patients Undergoing Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Background: No-reflow is a major challenging issue in the management of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). This study aimed to investigate the clinical, laboratory, and procedural predictors of no-reflow.

Methods: This study was conducted on 378 patients with STEMI admitted to Dr. Heshmat Educational and Remedial Center (a referral heart hospital in Rasht, Iran) between 2015 and 2017. The study population was divided based on the thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) flow grade and the myocardial blush grade into no-reflow and reflow groups. The clinical, laboratory, and procedural characteristics at admission were compared between the 2 groups using the multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Results: The mean age of the participants was 58.57±11.49 years, and men comprised 74.1% of the study population. The no-reflow phenomenon was found in 77 patients. The no-reflow group was significantly older and more likely to be female; additionally, it had higher frequencies of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, and a history of cardiovascular diseases. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age >60 years (OR=1.05, 95% CI:1.00–1.09), hypertension (OR=2.91, 95% CI:1.35–6.27), diabetes (OR=4.18, 95% CI:1.89–9.22), a low systolic blood pressure (OR=3.53, 95% CI:1.02–12.2), a history of cardiovascular diseases (OR=4.29, 95% CI:1.88–9.77), chronic heart failure (OR=4.96, 95% CI:1.23–20), a low initial TIMI flow grade (OR=7.58, 95% CI:1.46–39.2 ), anemia (OR=3.42, 95% CI:1.33–8.77), and stenting vs. balloon angioplasty (OR=0.42, 95% CI:0.19–0.91) were the significant independent predictors of no-reflow.

Conclusion: This study revealed some clinical, laboratory, and procedural predictors of no-reflow for the prediction of high-risk patients and their appropriate management to reduce the risk of no-reflow.

Retinal Vascular Density as A Novel Biomarker of Acute Renal Injury after Acute Coronary Syndrome

Iodinated contrast agent (ICA)-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) following acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a frequent complication, which may lead to chronic kidney disease and increased mortality. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) of the retina is new tool delivering a rapid and noninvasive assessment of systemic microvascularization, which is potentially involved in the occurrence of ICA-induced AKI. Between October 2016 and March 2017, 452 ACS patients were admitted to our cardiac intensive care unit. OCT-A was performed within 48 h after the ICA injection. Patients with a history of retinal disease were excluded. The patients included were divided into two groups depending on whether or not AKI occurred after injection of ICA, according to KDIGO criteria. Of the 216 patients included, 21 (10%) presented AKI. AKI was significantly associated with age, Mehran score, GRACE score, and NT-proBNP. AKI patients had significantly lower retinal vascular density (RVD)) and had more frequent low RVD (81% vs 45%, P = 0.002). Adding low RVD to the Mehran score and the NT-proBNP, or to the GRACE score and the NT-proBNP, significantly improved their predictive values, suggesting that systemic microvascular involvement remains incompletely addressed by either standard risk scores or factors known to be associated with ICA-induced AKI.

Comparison of syntax score and syntax score II to predict "no reflow phenomenon" in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction

Even though the relationship between syntax score (SS) and coronary no-reflow phenomenon has been studied, the relation between SS and syntax score II (SS II) in patients with no-reflow phenomenon is unknown. We aimed to define the relationship between coronary no-reflow phenomenon and SS II as compared with SS. This study enrolled 193 patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention for ST elevation myocardial infarction in whom 42 patients developed the no-reflow phenomenon. SS and SS II were calculated in all patients. Bland Altman analysis was used to compare receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis results. SS and SS II values were significantly higher in the no-reflow group than the reflow group (28.3 ± 5.5 vs. 18.8 ± 10.1; p < 0.001 and 42.5 (22.1-58.5) vs. 26.1 (13-49.8); p < 0.001 respectively). SS II value >32.3 yielded an area under the curve value of 0.881 (95% CI 0.820-0.942; p < 0.001) and independently predicted no-reflow with a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 80% (OR 1.150, 95% CI 1.047-1.263, p = 0.003). Comparison of ROC curve results with Bland Altman analysis showed that area under curve of SS II was larger than that of SS (0.881 vs. 0.785, p = 0.01). SS II may be a more useful tool than SS for prediction no-reflow phenomenon after primary percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction.