A randomized trail comparing primary percutaneous coronary intervention with a strategy of short-acting thrombolysis and immediate planned primary percutaneous coronary intervention in acute myocardial infarction

Objective This study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a short acting reduced dose fibrinolytic regimen to promote early infarct related artery (IRA) patency for acyute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients referred for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).Methods Following aspirin and heparin, 166 patients were randomized to a 50 mg bolus of recombinant tissue type plasminogen activator(rt PA) or to a same volume sodium chloride injection followed by immediate primary PCI. The end points included patency rates on catheterization laboratory (cath lab) arrival, revascularization results when PCI was performed, complication rates, left ventricular function and restored patency rate following PCI. Results Patency on cath lab arrival was 64% with rt PA (34% TIMI 3,30% TIMI 2), while 31% of placebo (13% TIMI 3, 18% TIMI 2). There was no difference in the restored TIMI 3 rates of IRA between the two groups (85% vs 87%). No difference were observed in stroke or major bleeding. Left ventricular function was similar in both groups (52±9% vs 50±8%), but left ventricular ejection fraction fraction (LVEF) was higher with patent IRA (TIMI 3) on cath lab arrival than that of others (56±12% vs 48±10%).Conclusions Strategy thrombolytic regimens were compatible with subsequent PCI lead to more frequenc early recanalization (before cath lab arrival), which facilitates greater left ventricular function preservation with no augmentation of adverse events.

A comparative study on transradial vs transfemoral artery access for primary percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with acute myocardial infarction

Objective Comparative study on the feasibility,safety and outcome of transradial artery and transfemoral artery access for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with acute myocardial infarction(AMI).Methods Two hundred and eight patients with AMI episoded within 12 hours, male 159, female 49, age 58.9 ±11.9 (34～88)years, were randomly divided into transradial artery access for primary PCI (TRA pPCI) group of 106 cases and transfemoral artery access for PCI (TFA pPCI) group of 102 cases during Sept, 2000 to Aug, 2002. The protocols of the manipulation duration and the effect for TRA pPCI and TFA pPCI procedures were respectively compared, including the time of transradial artery puncture and the rate of puncture success at first time ; the time of guiding catheter engaging into target coronary ostium; the rate of patence in infarct related artery (IRA); total duration of manipulation and the successful rate.The incidence of complications such as bleeding, vessel injury,thrombi and embolism as well as the average stay of hospitalization between two groups was compared. The status and the incidance of vessel spasm were observed and the effect of medicine administration to prevent from and relieve the vascular spasm was evaluated. The time of Allen’s test before and after TRA pPCI , the inner diameter and the peak of blood velocity of the right and left radial artery were investigated with color Doppler vessel echography as well as the complications of radial artery were followed up 1 month after TRA pPCI procedure. Results Two cases in every TRA pPCI and TFA pPCI groups were crossed over each other because procedure of the transradial or transfemoral access was failure. One handred and six vessels (48 vessels in LAD,22 vessels in LCX and 36 vessels in RCA) associated with 28 vessels of total occlusion in TRA pPCI group and 102 vessels (51 vessels in LAD,18 veesles in LCX and 33 vessels in RCA) with 24 vessels in total occlusion in TFA pPCI group were angioplasticized . The successful rates of the first time puncture in access artery, the re patence IRA and pPCI were similar in TRA pPCI and TFA pPCI groups ( 93.4% vs 96.1% ;100% vs 100%; 96.2% vs 97.1% , P >0.05 ). There were no significant diffierence in the average time of puncture time of access artery ,engaging in target vessels of guiding catheters and the total procedure of PCI between the two groups ( 1.3 ±0.3s vs 1.2 ±0.3s ; 6.0 ±1.6min vs 5.8 ±0.9min ; 49.2 ±24.1min vs 46.5 ± 26.4min , P >0.05 ). The access artery complications such as bleeding ,hematoma and embolism as well the veneous thrombosis in TFA pPCI group were much more than those in TRA pPCI group(p< 0.01 ). Although slight artery spasm of 4.7% cases in TRA pPCI group was happened during the procedure of PCI , the procedure had being continued after administration of medicine to release the spasm. The time of Allen’s test ,diameter and the systolic velocity of blood in daul radial arteries were no significant change before and after pPCI.Conclusions The duration and effect by TRA pPCI for AMI with stable hemodynamics was similar to TFA pPCI. The complications such as of bleeding,vessel injury, thrombi and embolism by TRA pPCI were few, and it was unnecessary to discontinue the anticoagulation medicine. TRA pPCI might be selected as a access vessel for pPCI in AMI patients with stable hemodynamics.

Use of B-type natriuretic peptide in evaluation of early percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with acute coronary syndrome

Background Previous studies showed that blood B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) level could predict the prognosis of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) This study investigated the evaluation value of circulating BNP for early percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with ACS Methods Nine hundred and sixty consecutive patients with ACS were enrolled Circulating BNP level was measured when each patient arrived at the emergency room All patients underwent PCI in 90 minutes in spite of contraindication Cardiac events (death from any cause, heart failure, and recurrence of acute myocardial infarction or ACS) were recorded during follow-up KH*2/5DResults In patients with BNP ≥80 pg/ml, mortality from all causes within 1 month and 6 months in those underwent delayed PCI (≥6 hours) was significantly higher than those received early PCI (<6 hours) (9 53% vs 3 49%, P =0 027; 13 61% vs 5 24%, P =0 010, respectively) Similarly, the incidence rate of heart failure in delayed PCI patients was significantly higher than those received early PCI within 1 month and 6 months (12 93% vs 4 66%, P =0 008; 14 97% vs 6 98%, P =0 021, respectively) The recurrence rate of acute myocardial infarction or ACS, however, was not significantly different between early PCI and delayed PCI patients in group BNP ≥80 pg/ml In patients with BNP <80 pg/ml, no significant difference was observed between early PCI and delayed PCI patients with any of the above cardiac events within 1 month or 6 months Conclusion While early level of circulating BNP ≥80 pg/ml, the incidence of mortality and heart failure, but not recurrence of acute myocardial infarction, is significantly reduced in patients with ACS provided by early PCI

Long-Term Follow-Up of Chinese Herbal Medicines Combined with Conventional Treatment in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective： To evaluate the prognosis effect of Chinese herbal medicines（CHMs） for benefiting qi and activating blood circulation adjunctive to conventional treatment in patients with acute coronary syndrome（ACS） after percutaneous coronary intervention（PCI）. Methods： A total of 702 patients with ACS who underwent PCI were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive conventional treatment plus CHMs for benefiting qi and activating blood circulation（treatment group, 351 cases） or conventional treatment alone（control group, 351 cases） for 6 months. Six months later, all patients received conventional treatment alone. Follow-ups were scheduled at 6th, 12 th, 18 th, 24 th month after enrollment in April 2008, and the final follow-up visit was during September 2011 and November 2011. The primary endpoint was the composite of cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction or revascularization（PCI or coronary artery bypass grafting）; and the secondary endpoint was the composite of re-admission for ACS, congestive heart failure, nonfatal stroke or other thrombus events. Results： A total of 621（88.59%） patients completed 35.4±3.8 months follow-up, while 80（11.41%） patients withdrew from the trial（41 in the treatment group and 39 in the control group）. The incidence of primary endpoint was 5.7%（20 patients） in the treatment group versus 10.86%（38 patients） in the control group [relative risk（RR）： 0.53; 95% confidence interval（CI）： 0.30, 0.88; P=0.013; absolute risk reduction（ARR）： –0.052, 95% CI： –0.06, 0.01]. The incidence of secondary endpoint was 5.98%（21 patients） in the treatment group versus 10.28%（36 patients） in control group（RR： 0.58, 95% CI： 0.33, 0.97, P=0.037; ARR： –0.043, 95% CI： 0.06, 0.01）. Most of the primary and secondary endpoints were occurred in 18 months（84.50% in the treatment group versus 78.10% in the control group）. Conclusion： CHMs for benefiting qi and activating blood circulation adjunctive to conventional treatment improved clinical outcomes for patients with ACS after PCI in long-term follow-up.

The impact of different doses of atorvastatin on plasma endothelin and platelet function in acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction after emergency percutaneous coronary intervention

Objective To investigate the effects of different doses of atorvastatin on plasma endothelin and platelet function in acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction(STEMI)patients after emergency percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI).Methods A total of 120 patients with acute STEMI treated with emergency PCI were enrolled and randomly divided into 20 mg of atorvastatin treatment group(standard group,n=60),and 40 mg of atorvastatin treatment group(intensive group,n=60).

Platelet function monitoring guided antiplatelet therapy in patients receiving high-risk coronary interventions

Background Large-scale clinical trials have shown that routine monitoring of the platelet function in patients after percutanous coronary intervention （PCI） is not necessary. However, it is still unclear whether patients received high-risk PCI would benefit from a therapy which is guided by a selective platelet function monitoring. This explanatory study sought to assess the benefit of a therapy guided by platelet function monitoring for these patients. Methods Acute coronary syndrome （ACS） patients （n=384） who received high-risk, complex PCI were randomized into two groups. PCI in the two types of lesions described below was defined as high-risk, complex PCI： lesions that could result in severe clinical outcomes if stent thrombosis occurred or lesions at high risk for stent thrombosis. The patients in the conventionally treated group received standard dual antiplatelet therapy. The patients in the platelet function monitoring guided group received an antiplated therapy guided by a modified thromboelastography （TEG） platelet mapping： If inhibition of platelet aggregation （IPA） induced by arachidonic acid （AA） was less than 50% the aspirin dosage was raised to 200 mg/d; if IPA induced by adenosine diphosphate （ADP） was less than 30% the clopidogrel dosage was raised to 150 mg/d, for three months. The primary efficacy endpoint was a composite of myocardial infarction, emergency target vessel revascularization （eTVR）, stent thrombosis, and death in six months. Results This study included 384 patients; 191 and 193 in the conventionally treated group and platelet function monitoring guided group, respectively. No significant differences were observed in the baseline clinical characteristics and interventional data between the two groups. In the platelet function monitoring guided group, the mean IPA induced by AA and ADP were （69.2＋24.5）% （range, 4.8% to 100.0%） and （51.4＋29.8）% （range, 0.2% to 100.0%）, respectively. The AA- induced IPA of forty-three （22.2%） patients was less than 50% and the ADP-induced IPA of fifty-seven （29.5%） patients was less than 30%; therefore, their drug dosages were adjusted. The TEG was rechecked one to four weeks after PCI, and the results indicated that the IPAs had significantly improved （P 〈0.01）. However, no significant differences were found in the rates of the primary efficacy endpoint. Rates in the conventionally treated group and platelet function monitoring guided group were 4.7% and 5.2%, respectively （hazard ratio： 1.13; P=0.79）. Conclusion An antiplatelet therapy guided by TEG monitored platelet function could not improve clinical efficacy even in ACS patients treated with high-risk complex PCI.