Intensive vs non-intensive statin pretreatment before percutaneous coronary intervention in Chinese patients:A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND The results of intensive statin pretreatment before percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI)is inconsistent between Chinese and Western populations,and there are no corresponding meta-analyses involving hard clinical endpoints in the available published literature.AIM To evaluate the efficacy and safety of high-dose statin loading before PCI in Chinese patients through a meta-analysis.METHODS Relevant studies were identified by searching the electronic databases of PubMed,Embase and Cochrane’s Library to December 2019.The outcomes included an assessment of major adverse cardiovascular event(MACE),non-fatal myocardial infarction(MI),cardiac death,target vessel revascularization(TVR),myalgia/myasthenia and abnormal alanine aminotransferase(ALT)in all enrolled patients.Random effect model and fixed effect model were applied to combine the data,which were further analyzed byχ2 test and I2 test.The main outcomes were then analyzed through the use of relative risks(RR)and its 95%confidence interval(95%CI).RESULTS Eleven studies involving 3123 individuals were included.Compared with patients receiving placebo or no statin treatment before surgery,intensive statin treatment was associated with a clear reduction of risk of MACE(RR=0.44,95%CI:0.31-0.61,P<0.00001).However,compared with the patients receiving moderateintensity statin before surgery,no advantage to intensive statin treatment was seen(RR=1.04,95%CI:0.82-1.31,P=0.74).In addition,no significant difference was observed between intensive statin therapy and non-intensive statin therapy on the incidence of TVR(RR=0.43,95%CI:0.18-1.02,P=0.06),myalgia/myasthenia(RR=1.35,95%CI:0.30-5.95,P=0.69)and abnormal alanine aminotransferase(RR=1.47,95%CI:0.54-4.02,P=0.45)except non-fatal MI(RR=0.54,95%CI:0.33-0.88,P=0.01).CONCLUSION Compared with placebo or no statin pretreatment,intensive statin before PCI displayed reduced incidence of MACE.However,there was no significant benefit between high and moderate-intensity statin.In addition,no significant difference was observed between intensive statin therapy and non-intensive statin therapy on the incidence of TVR,myalgia/myasthenia and abnormal alanine aminotransferase except non-fatal MI.

Clinical and cost impact of intravenous proton pump inhibitor use in non-ICU patients

AIM:To assess the appropriateness of the indication and route of administration of proton-pump-inhibitors (PPIs) and their associated cost impact. METHODS:Data collection was performed prospec-tively during a 6-mo period on 340 patients who re-ceived omeprazole intravenously during their hospital stay in non-intensive care floors. Updated guidelines were used to assess the appropriateness of the indication and route of administration. RESULTS:Complete data collection was available for 286 patients which were used to assess intravenous (IV) PPIs utilization. Around 88% of patients were receiving PPIs for claimed stress ulcer prophylaxis (SUP) indication; of which,only 17% met the guideline criteria for SUP indication,14% met the criteria for non-steroidal-anti-inflammatory drugs-induced ulcer prophylaxis,while the remaining 69% were identifi ed as having an unjustified indication for PPI use. Theinitiation of IV PPIs was appropriate in 55% of pa-tients. Half of these patients were candidates for switching to the oral dosage form during their hos-pitalization,while only 36.7% of these patients were actually switched. The inappropriate initiation of PPIs via the IV route was more likely to take place on the medical floor than the surgical floor (53% vs 36%,P = 0.003). The cost analysis associated with the appro-priateness of the indication for PPI use as well as the route of administration of PPI revealed a possible saving of up to $17 732.5 and $14 571,respectively. CONCLUSION:This study highlights the over-utili-zation of IV PPIs in non-intensive care unit patients. Restriction of IV PPI use for justified indications and route of administration is recommended.