Transradial Versus Transfemoral Approach for Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Elderly Patients in China： A Retrospective Analysis

Objective To compare hospital costs and clinical outcomes between transradial intervention （TRI） and transfemoral intervention （TFI） in elderly patients aged over 65 years. Methods We identified 1229 patients aged over 65 years who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention （PCI） in Fuwai Hospital, Beijing, China, between January 1 and December 31, 2010. Total hospital costs and in-hospital outcomes were compared between TRI and TFI. An inverse probability weighting （IPW） model was introduced to control potential biases. Results Patients who underwent TRI were younger, less often female, more likely to receive PCI for single-vessel lesions, and less likely to undergo the procedure for ostial lesions. TRI was associated with a cost saving of CNY7495 （95%CI： CNY4419-10 420）. Such differences were mainly driven by lower PCI-related costs. TRI patients had shorter length of stay （1.9 days, 95%CI： 1.1-2.7 days）, shorter post-procedural stay （0.7 days, 95%CI： 0.3-1.1 days）, and fewer major adverse cardiac events （adjusted odds ratio = 0.47, 95%CI： 0.31-0.73）. There was no statistical significance in the incidence of post-PCI bleeding between TRI and TFI （P〉0.05）. Such differences remained consistent in clinically relevant subgroups of acute myocardial infarction, acute coronary syndrome, and stable angina. Conclusion The use of TRI in patients aged over 65 years was associated with significantly reduced hospital costs and more favorable clinical outcomes.

High Serum Resistin Level may be an Indicator of the Severity of Coronary Disease in Acute Coronary Syndrome

Objective To investigate the correlation between serum resistin level, cardiovascular risk factors and severity of coronary disease in acute coronary syndrome （ACS）. Methods Alter evaluated by clinical history, electrocardiography, exercise tolerance tests, laboratory tests, and coronary angiography, 220 consecutive patients with suspected chest pain were divided into normal control group, stable angina pectoris （SAP） group, and ACS group, respectively. Baseline clinical characteristics, including height, weight, waist circumference, hip circumference, white blood cell count, high-sensitive C-reactive protein （hsCRP）, total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, were compared among three groups. ELISA was used to detect serum resistin levels. Pearson＇s correlation coefficient analysis was used to assess association between resistin and other traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to define the relationship between serum resistin level and SAP or ACS. Results Serum resistin level in ACS group （1.18±0.48 μg/L） was significantly higher than that in normal control and SAP groups （0.49±0.40 and 0.66±0.40 μg/L; P〈0.01）. Only in ACS group, increased serum resistin level was significantly correlated with hsCRP （r=0.262, P=0.004） and white blood cell count （r=0.347, P=0.001）. Furthermore, serum resistin levels showed a stepwise increase with the number increase of 〉 50% stenosed coronary vessels. Multinomial logistic regression test demonstrated that serum resistin was a strong risk factor for ACS （OR=29.132, 95 % CI： 10.939-77.581, P〈0.001）. Conclusion These findings suggested the potential role of resistin in atherosclerosis and especially its involvement in ACS.

Acute coronary syndrome in the older adults

Coronary heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the developed world. Advanced age is the single strongest risk factor for coronary artery disease （CAD） and independent predictor for poor outcomes following an acute coronary syndrome （ACS）. ACS refers to a spectrum of conditions compatible with acute myocardial ischemia and/or infarction due to various degrees of reduction in co- ronary blood flow as a result of plaque rupture/erosion and thrombosis formation or supply and demand mismatch.

Is frailty associated with short-term outcomes for elderly patients with acute coronary syndrome？

Background Frailty is a new prognostic factor in cardiovascular medicine due to the aging and increasingly complex nature of elderly patients. It is useful and meaningful to prospectively analyze the manner in which frailty predicts short-term outcomes for elderly patients with acute coronary syndrome （ACS）. Methods Patients aged 〉 65 years, with diagnosis of ACS from cardiology department and geriatrics department were included from single-center. Clinical data including geriatrics syndromes were collected using Comprehensive Geriatrics Assessment. Frailty was defined according to the Clinical Frailty Scale and the impact of the co-morbidities on risk was quantified by the coronary artery disease （CAD）--specific index. Patients were followed up by clinical visit or telephone consultation and the median follow-up time is 120 days. Following-up items included all-cause mortality, unscheduled return visit, in-hospital and recurrent major adverse cardiovascular events. Multivariable regression survival analysis was performed using Cox regression. Results Of the 352 patients, 152 （43.18%） were considered frail according to the study instrument （5-7 on the scale）, and 93 （26.42%） were considered moderately or se- verely frail （6-7 on the scale）. Geriatrics syndromes including incontinence, fall history, visual impairment, hearing impairment, constipation, chronic pain, sleeping disorder, dental problems, anxiety or depression, and delirium were more frequently in frail patients than in non-frail patients （P = 0.000, 0.031, 0.009, 0.014, 0.000, 0.003, 0.022, 0.000, 0.074, and 0.432, respectively）. Adjusted for sex, age, severity of coro- nary artery diseases （left main coronary artery lesion or not） and co-morbidities （CAD specific index） by Cox survival analysis, frailty was found to be strongly and independently associated with risk for the primary composite outcomes： all-canse mortality [Hazard Ratio （HR） = 5.393; 95% CI： 1.477-19.692, P = 0.011] and unscheduled return visit （HR - 2.832; 95% CI： 1.140-7.037, P = 0.025）. Conclusions Comprehensive Geriatrics Assessment and Clinical Frail Scale were useful in evaluation of elderly patients with ACS. Frailty was strongly and independently associated with short-term outcomes for elderly patients with ACS.

Homocysteine is associated with the progression of non-culprit coronary lesions in elderly acute coronary syndrome patients after percutaneous coronary intervention

Background The influence of homocysteine （Hcy） on the migration and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells has been well established. However, the impact of Hcy levels on the progression of non-culprit coronary lesions （NCCLs） is controversial. This study aims to evaluate whether the plasma level of Hcy is related to the progression of NCCLs after percutaneous coronary stent implantation in elderly patients with acute coronary syndrome （ACS）. Methods A total of 223 elderly patients （〉 65 years old） with ACS undergoing stent im- plantation and follow-up coronary angiography were enrolled. Laboratory determination comprised of blood sample evaluation for Hcy was carried out before baseline coronary intervention. The patients were classified into two groups according to the blood Hcy tertiles （〉 15 mmol/L or 〈 15 mmol/L）. Patients were followed up for 12.2 months. NCCL progression was assessed by three-dimensional quantitative coronary angiography. Results A significantly higher ratio of NCCL progression was observed in the group with baseline Hcy concentrations above 15 mmol/L compared to the group with concentrations below 15 mmol/L （41/127, 32.3% vs. 14/96, 14.6%, P = 0.002）. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that Hcy and diabetes mellitus were independent risk factors for NCCL progression. The crude haz- ard ratio （HR） of NCCL progression for Hcy level was 1.056 （95% CI： 1.01-1.104, P = 0.015）. The adjusted HR of NCCL progression for Hcy level was 1.024 （95% CI： 1.007-1.042, P = 0.007）. The adjusted HR of NCCL progression for diabetes mellitus was 1.992 （95% CI： 1.15-3.44, P = 0.013）. Conclusions Hcy is an independent risk factor for NCCL progression after 12 months of follow-up in elderly patients with ACS who has undergone percutaneous coronary stenting.

Impact of concomitant use of proton pump inhibitors and clopidogrel or ticagrelor on clinical outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndrome

Background There is great debate on the possible adverse interaction between proton pump inhibitors （PPIs） and clopidogrel. In ad- dition, whether the use of PPIs affects the clinical efficacy of ticagrelor remains less known. We aimed to determine the impact of concomi- tant administration of PPIs and clopidogrel or ticagrelor on clinical outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndrome （ACS） after percuta- neous coronary intervention （PCI）. Methods We retrospectively analyzed data fi＇om a ＂real world＂, international, multi-center registry between 2003 and 2014 （n = 15,401） and assessed the impact of concomitant administration of PPIs and clopidogrel or ticagrelor on 1-year composite primary endpoint （all-cause death, re-infarction, or severe bleeding） in patients with ACS after PCI. Results Of 9429 patients in the final cohort, 54.8% （n = 5165） was prescribed a PPI at discharge. Patients receiving a PPI were older, more often female, and were more likely to have comorbidities. No association was observed between PPI use and the primary endpoint for patients receiving clopidogrel （ad- justed HR： 1.036; 95% CI： 0.903-1.189） or ticagrelor （adjusted HR： 2.320; 95% CI： 0.875-45.151） （Pinteraction = 0.2004）. Similarly, use of a PPI was not associated with increased risk of all-cause death, re-infarction, or a decreased risk of severe bleeding for patients treated with either clopidogrel or ticagrelor. Conclusions In patients with ACS following PCI, concomitant use of PPIs was not associated with in- creased risk of adverse outcomes in patients receiving either clopidogrel or ticagrelor. Our findings indicate it is reasonable to use a PPI in combination with clopidogrel or ticagrelor, especially in patients with a higher risk of gastrointestinal bleeding.

Comparison of the performance of the CRUSADE, ACUITY-HORIZONS, and ACTION bleeding scores in ACS patients undergoing PCI： insights from a cohort of 4939 patients in China

Background The CRUSADE, ACTION and ACUITY-HORIZONS scores are commonly used for predicting in-hospital major bleeding events in patients with acute coronary syndrome （ACS）, but the homogeneous nature of these models＇ population limits simple ex- trapolation to other local population. We aimed to compare the performance of the three risk models in Chinese patients. Methods We evaluated the performance of the three predicting scores for predicting in-hospital major bleeding events defined by thrombolysis in myocar- dial infarction （TIMI） serious （major and minor） episodes, in a cohort of Chinese ACS patients with either non-ST-elevation ACS （NSTE-ACS） or ST-elevation myocardial infarction （STEMI）. Calibration and discrimination of the three risk models were evaluated by the Hosmer-Lemeshow test and C-statistic, respectively. We compared the predictive accuracy of the risk scores by the Delong non-parametric test. Results TIMI serious bleeding rate was 1.1% overall （1.9% and 0.86% for STEMI and NSTE-ACS, respectively）. The CRUSADE, ACTION and ACUTIY-HOR/ZONS scores showed an adequate discriminatory capacity for major bleeding： in overall patients, the C-statistic was 0.80, 0.77, and 0.70, respectively; in NSTE-ACS patients, the C-statistic was 0.73, 0.72, and 0.64, respectively; in STEMI patients, the C-statistic was 0.91, 0.92, and 0.75, respectively. The C-statistic for the ACUITY-HORIZONS model was significantly lower than those of the CRUSADE and ACTION scores for the prediction of TIM/serious bleeding in overall patients （compared with CRUSADE, z = 3.83, P = 0.02; compared with ACTION, z = 3.51, P = 0.03）; in NSTE-ACS patients （compared with CRUSADE, z = 2.37, P = 0.01; compared with ACTION, z = 2.11, P = 0.04）, and in STEMI patients （compared with CRUSADE, z = 2.6.77, P = 0.02; compared with AC- TION, z = 7.91, P = 0.002）. No differences were observed when the CRUSADE and ACTION models were compared to each other, regard- less of overall patients （z = 0.68, P = 0.31） and both of ACS types （NSTE-ACS, z = 0.52, P = 0.60）, and STEMI patients （z = 0.36, P = 0.74）. However, the three risk scores all overestimated the absolute major bleeding risk in each risk stratification in our study. For example, the predicted rate of CRUSADE score at high risk stratification was 11.9% vs. an actual rate of 5.3%. Conclusions The CRUSADE and AC- TION scores had a greater calibration and discrimination for in-hospital major bleeding compared with the ACUITY-HORIZONS score in Chinese patients with ACS undergoing PCI. However, they all overestimated the bleeding risk rate for Chinese populations. Calibration of these risk scores would be useful for the generalization in Chinese populations.

Acute coronary syndromes： an old age problem

The increasing population in older age will lead to greater numbers of them presenting with acute coronary syndromes （ACS）. This has implications on global healthcare resources and necessitates better management and selection for evidenced-based therapies. The elderly are a high risk group with more significant treatment benefits than younger ACS. Nevertheless, age related inequalities in ACS care are recognised and persist. This discrepancy in care, to some extent, is explained by the higher frequency of atypical and delayed presentations in the elderly, and less diagnostic electrocardiograms at presentation, potentiating a delay in ACS diagnosis. Under estimation of mortality risk in the elderly due to limited consideration for physiological tiailty, co-morbidity, cognitive/psychological impairment and physical disability, less input by cardiology specialists and lack of randomised, controlled trials data to guide management in the elderly may further confound the inequality of care. While these inequalities exist, there remains a substantial opportunity to improve age related ACS outcomes. The selection of elderly patients for specific therapies and medication regimens are unanswered. There is a growing need for randomised, controlled trial data to be more representative of the population and enroll those of advanced age with co-morbidity. A lack of reporting of adverse events, such as renal impairment post coronary angiography, in the elderly further limit risk benefit decisions. Substantial improvements in care of elderly ACS patients are required and should be advocated. Ultimately, these improvements are likely to lead to better outcomes post ACS. However, the improvement in outcome is not infinite and will be limited by non-modifiable factors of age-related risk.

Antithrombotic treatment tailoring and risk score evaluation in elderly patients diagnosed with an acute coronary syndrome

Age is an important prognostic factor in the outcome of acute coronary syndromes （ACS）. A substantial percentage of patients who ex- perience ACS is more than 75 years old, and they represent the fastest-growing segment of the population treated in this setting. These pa- tients present different patterns of responses to pharmacotherapy, namely, a higher ischemic and bleeding risk than do patients under 75 years of age. Our aim was to identify whether the currently available ACS ischemic and bleeding risk scores, which has been validated for the general population, may also apply to the elderly population. The second aim was to determine whether the elderly benefit more from a spe- cific pharmacological regimen, keeping in mind the numerous molecules of antiplatelet and antithrombotic drugs, all validated in the general population. We concluded that the GRACE （Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events） risk score has been extensively validated in the elderly. However, the CRUSADE （Can Rapid risk stratification of Unstable angina patients Suppress ADverse outcomes with Early imple- mentation of the ACC/AHA Guidelines） bleeding score has a moderate correlation with outcomes in the elderly. Until now, there have not been head-to-head scores that quantify the ischemic versus hemorrhagic risk or scores that use the same end point and timeline （e.g., ischemic death rate versus bleeding death rate at one month）. We also recommend that the frailty score be considered or integrated into the current existing scores to better quantify the overall patient risk. With regard to medical treatment, based on the subgroup analysis, we identified the drugs that have the least adverse effects in the elderly while maintaining optimal efficacy.

Update on pharmacological treatment of acute coronary syndrome without persistent ST segment elevation myocardial infarction in the elderly

The increase in cardiovascular disease prevalence with ageing has been attributed to several age-related changes such as changes in the vascular wall elasticity, the coagulation and haernostatic system and endothelial dysfunction, among other causes. There is a 50% increased mortality risk per 10-year increase in age starting at 65 years old. Here, we aimed to discuss pharmacological treatment in acute coronary syndrome （ACS） without persistent ST segment elevation myocardial infarction in the elderly. The main aim of ACS treatment in elderly people is at preventing ischemia, myocardial damage and complications. A meta-analysis suggests that invasive revascularization therapy is probably most useful in older patients. Dual antiplatelet therapy is currently the standard of care post-ACS. Platelet P2Y12 inhibitors are among the most commonly used medications worldwide, due to their established benefits in the treatment and prevention of arterial throm- bosis. The main recommendation is to tailor antithrombotic treatment, considering body weight, renal function （Class I, level C） and careful evaluation of life expectancy, comorbidities, risk/benefit profile, quality of life and fxailty when invasive strategies are considered （Class IIa, level A） on top of the different recommendations given for a general non ST elevation ACS population. It is obvious that potent P2Y12 in- hibitors will continue to play an important role in pharmacological treatment for elderly ACS patients in the future.

Acute coronary syndrome: a rare case of multiple endocrine neoplasia syndromes with pheochromocytoma and medullary thyroid carcinoma

Pheochromocytoma is a tumor arising from neuroectodermal chromaffin tissues in the adrenal gland or extra-adrenal paraganglia(paragangliomas). The prevalence of the tumor is 0.1%-0.6% in the hypertensive population, of which 10%-20% are malignant. Pheochromocytoma produces, stores, and secretes catecholamines, as well as leads to hypertensive crisis, arrhythmia, angina, and acute myocardial infarction without coronary artery diseases. We report a case of acute coronary syndrome(ACS) with a final diagnosis of multiple endocrine neoplasia with pheochromocytoma and medullary thyroid carcinoma(MTC).

Stable ischemic heart disease in the older adults

1 Introduction Ischemic heart disease is caused by atherosclerotic and/or thrombotic obstruction of coronary arteries. Clinical spec- trum of ischemic heart disease expands from asymptomatic atherosclerosis of coronary arteries to acute coronary syn- dromes （ACS） including unstable angina, acute myocardial infarction （non-ST elevation myocardial infarction and ST elevation myocardial infarction）. Stable ischemic heart dis- ease （SIHD） refers to patients with known or suspected SIHD who have no recent or acute changes in their symp- tomatic status, suggesting no active thrombotic process is underway.

Outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention in patients ≥ 75 years： one-center study in a Chinese patient group

Objective To investigate the clinical and perioperative characteristics of patients ≥ 75 who undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention （PCI） and to evaluate the risk factors related to short-term post-PCI mortality in this specific patients group. Methods 1,035 consecutive subjects who underwent PCI from December 2011 to November 2013 were divided into four categories： （1） patients with stable angina （SA） 〉 75 years （n = 58）; （2） patients with SA 〈 75 years （n = 218）; （3） patients with acute coronary syndrome （ACS） ≥ 75 years （n = 155）; （4） patients with ACS 〈 75 years （n - 604）. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to detect risk factors of six-month mortality in patients ≥ 75 years who had undergone PCI. Clinical comorbidities, in-hospital biochemical indicators, perioperative data, in-hospital and six-month outcomes were analyzed and compared among the four groups. Results Compared with the younger group, pa- tients 〉 75 years were more likely to have hypertension, history of stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, peripheral vascular disease, cardiogenic shock and malignant mxhythmia, and they were admitted to hospital with relative lower weight, hemoglobin, albumin, triglyceride, higher creatinine, uric acid, urea nitrogen and pro-BNP. Left main artery lesions, multi-vessel, calcified lesions, chronic totally occlusion were also more likely to be seen in the elderly group. Univariate analysis revealed that age 〉 85 years, cardiogenic shock or severe arrhythmia at ad- mission, emergency PCI, prior stroke and chronic kidney disease were related to six-month mortality in elderly patients 〉 75 years who underwent PCI. Multivariable logistic regression showed that cardiogenic shock or severe arrhythmia at admission, chronic kidney disease and prior stroke were independent risk factors predicting six-month mortality in elderly patients 〉 75 years who had undergone PCI. Conclusions Our data showed that, compared with patients under 75 years, elderly patients （〉 75 years） who had undergone PCI had a relative higher risk of mortality, and more often accompanied with multi-comorbidities, severer admission conditions and complex coronary lesions. Better evaluation of risk factors and more intensively care should be taken to patients 〉 75 years who had undergone PCI therapy to reduce complications.

Respiratory and Cardiac Characteristics of ICU Patients Aged 90 Years and Older:A Report of 12 Cases

Objective To investigate the respiratory and cardiac characteristics of elderly Intensive Care Unit （ICU） patients. Methods Twelve senior ICU patients aged 90 years and older were enrolled in this study. We retrospectively collected all patients＇ clinical data through medical record review. The basic demographics, primary cause for admission, the condition of respiratory and circulatory support, as well as prognosis were recorded. Shock patients and pneumonia patients were specifically analyzed in terms of clinical manifestations, laboratory variables, echocardiography, and lung ultrasound results. Results The mean age of the included patients was 95 years with a male predominance （8 to 4, 66.7%）. Regarding the reasons for admission, 6 （50.0%） patients had respiratory failure, 1 （8.3%） patient had shock, while 5 （41.7%） patients had both respiratory failure and shock. Of the 6 patients who suffered from shock, only 1 was diagnosed with distributive shock, 5 with cardiogenic shock. Of the 5 cardiogenic shock patients, 1 was diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome. The rest 4 cardiogenic shock patients were diagnosed with Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. The patient with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction died within 24 hours. Of the 4 Takotsubo patients, 1 died on day-6 and the other 3 patients were transferred to ward after heart function recovered in 1 to 2 weeks. Of the 10 pneumonia patients, 3 were diagnosed as community acquired pneumonia, and 7 as hospital acquired pneumonia. Only 3 patients were successfully weaned from ventilator. The others required long-term ventilation complicated with heart failure, mostly with diastolic heart failure. Lung ultrasound of 6 during spontaneous breathing trial. patients with diastolic dysfunction showed bilateral B-lines Conclusions Elderly patients in shock tend to develop Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. Diastolic heartdysfunction might be a major contributor to difficult weaning from ventilator in elderly patients. Bedside lung ultrasonography and echocardiography could help decide the actual cause of respiratory failure and shock more accurately and effectively.

Efficacy and safety of individually tailored antiplatelet therapy in patients with acute coronary syndrome after coronary stenting： a single center, randomized, feasibility study

Background Low responsiveness to clopidogrel （LRC） is associated with increased risk of ischemic events. This study was aimed to explore the feasibility of tailored antiplatelet therapy according to the responsiveness to clopidogrel. Methods A total of 305 clopidogrel naive patients with acute coronary syndromes （ACS） undergoing coronary stenting were randomly assigned to receive standard （n = 151） or tailored （n = 154） antiplatelet therapy. The ADP-induced platelet aggregation tests by light transmission aggregometry were performed to identify LRC patients assigned to the tailored group. The standard antiplatelet regimen was dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and clopidogrel. The tailored antiplatelet therapy was standard regimen for non-LRC patients and an additional 6-month cilostazol treatment for LRC patients. The primary efficacy outcome was the composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction or stroke at one year. Results LCR was present in 26.6% （41/154） of patients in the tailored group. The percentage platelet aggregation for LCR patients was significantly decreased at three days after adjunctive cilostazol treatment （77.5% ± 12.1% vs. 64.5% ± 12.1%, P 〈 0.001）. At one year follow-up, a non-significant 37% relative risk reduction of primary events were observed in the tailored group as compared to the standard group （5.8% vs. 9.3%, P = 0.257）. There were no differences in the rates of stent thrombosis and hemorrhagic events between the two groups. Conclusions Tailored antiplatelet therapy for ACS patients after coronary stenting according to responsiveness to clopidogrel is feasible. However, its efficacy and safety need further confirmation by clinical trials with larger sample sizes.

N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide but not high-sensitivity C-reactive protein is related to severity of coronary artery stenosis in patients with acute coronary syndrome

Objective Biochemical indicators such as N-terminal pro-brain type natriuretic peptide（NT pro-BNP）and high-sensitivity Creactive protein（hsCRP）predict mortality in acute coronary syndrome（ACS）.However,little is known about the relationship of these factors with severity of coronary artery stenosis in patients with.Methods Three hundred and thirty-one subjects including 246 unstable angina pectoris patients and 85 myocardial infarction patients were recruited and classified into two groups：single-vessel disease group（1-vessel disease,n=93）and multiple-vessel disease group（≥2-vessels disease,n=238）according to selective coronary angiography.Plasma levels of NT pro-BNP and hsCRP were measured and severity of coronary stenosis was determined by Gensini score.Results NT pro-BNP but not hsCRP level was higher in patients with myocardial infarction than in patients with unstable angina pectoris.The patients with multiple-vessel disease had significantly higher NT pro-BNP level but not hsCRP compared with those with single-vessel disease.NT pro-BNP levels increased significantly as left ventricle（LV）function decreased,and only NT proBNP but not hsCRP level was related to Gensini score of severity of coronary stenosis in ACS.Conclusion NT proBNP but not hsCRP level is related to severity of coronary artery stenosis in patients in ACS.

The impact of optimal medical therapy at discharge on mortality in patients with coronary artery disease

Objective To analyze the current usage of optimal medical therapy （OMT）, influencing factors, and the predictive value of OMT for all-cause mortality in coronary artery disease （CAD） patients with different subgroups. Methods A total of 3176 CAD patients confirmed by coronary angiography were included. OMT was defined as the combination of anti-platelet drugs, statins, beta blockers, and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers. Factors for OMT and its prognostic value were analyzed in CAD patients across different subgroups. Results Out of 3176 patients, only 39.8% （n = 1265） were on OMT at discharge. Factors associated with OMT at discharge were pre-admission OMT and discharge department. All-cause mortality occurred in 6.8% （n = 217） of patients. Multivariate analyses indicated that OMT was significantly associated with reduced all-cause mortality （HR： 0.65, 95% CI： 0.45~0.95; P = 0.025）. Sub-group analyses indicate that male acute coronary syndrome （ACS） patients were more likely to receive survival benefits with OMT at discharge. The positive impact of OMT at discharge was more apparent after 24 months, regardless of revascularization therapy. Four-drug combination of OMT was superior to 3-drug combination therapy in ACS patients but not in stable patients. Conclusions OMT was asso- ciated with significant improvement in survival in patients with CAD. The positive impact of OMT was distinct in the CAD patients with different characteristics.

Concomitant acute myocardial infarction and descending thoracic aorta penetrating ulcer

Acute coronary syndrome （ACS） refers to a spectrum of clinical presentations ranging from unstable angina to non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction （NSTEMI） to ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction （STEMI）. Aortic dissection, intramural hematoma and penetrating atherosclerotic ulcer （PAU） are three major acute aortic syndromes （AAS）.

Safety and efficacy of dalteparin in percutaneous coronary intervention in Chinese patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary artery syndromes： comparison with unfractionated heparin

Objective To prospectively evaluate the safety and therapeutic efficacy ofdalteparin in patients with high risk non-ST- elevation acute coronary syndromes （ACS） during percutaneous coronary intervention （PCI）. Methods A total of 175 patients with high risk non-ST-elevation ACS were randomly assigned to 2 groups [dalteparin group and unfractionated heparin （UFH） group]. The patients in dalteparin group were given dalteparin at a dose of 5,000U subcutaneously soon after diagnosis and then an additional 60U/ kg intravenous bolus ofdalteparin before emergent PCI. Vascular access sheaths were removed immediately after PCI or coronary artery angiography; the patients in UFH group were given UFH intravenously at a dose of 25mg just before PCI and an additional 65mg bolus was administered if angiographic findings showed that the patients were suitable for percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty （PTCA）. Sheaths were removed at 4-6 hours after PCI; Results Eighty-three patients in dalteparin group underwent PCI while 82 patients in UFH group underwent PCI; anti-Xa activities of 52 patients in daltepafin group were measured. The average anti-Xa activity was （0. 83± 0.26） U/ml at 15 minutes after intravenous injection of dalteparin and anti-Xa〉0.SU/ml was obtained in 96.1% of the patients; hematomas at puncture sites were significantly fewer in dalteparin group as compared with UFH group （2.3% vs 9.2%, P 〈 0.05）; none of the patients in 2 groups suffered major bleeding events. No death, acute arterial reocclusion or emergent revascularization events occurred at 30 days after PCI. Conclusions Our study demonstrated that early subcutaneous injection ofdalteparin at a dose 5,000U after diagnosis and an additional 60U/kg intravenous bolus ofdalteparin before PCI is safe and efficacious for patients with high risk non-ST-elevation ACS undergoing emergent PCI.

Work up for the clopidogrel hypersensitivity that led to recognising the undi- agnosed myelodysplastic syndrome

Antiplatelet therapy with clopidogrel is widely used as a preventive strategy in patients with acute coronary syn- drome, particularly after stent implantation.Diverse mani- festations of clopidogrel hypersensitivity reaction have been reported including cutaneous,and hematologic symp- toms[31 as well as fatal reactions including thrombotic throm- bocytopenic purpura （TTP）.