坂倉 建一

Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is the cornerstone of treatment for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Previous studies suggest that direct transport by ambulance to a primary PCI facility is associated with better clinical outcomes in patients with STEMI. However, those studies included seriously ill patients for whom direct transport is the only option. We included 462 patients with STEMI who were supposed to select either direct transport by ambulance or indirect transport via primary care doctor, and compared the clinical outcomes between the direct transfer group (n = 172) and the indirect transfer group (n = 290). The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), which was defined as the composite of all-cause death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, re-admission for heart failure, and target vessel revascularization. The median follow-up duration was 540 days (86-1266 days). Age was significantly higher in the indirect transfer group [72.0 (64-80) years] than in the direct transfer group [69.5 (58.3-77) years] (p = 0.013). Onset to balloon time was significantly shorter in the direct transport group (p < 0.001). The Kaplan-Meier curves revealed that MACE were similarly observed between the two groups (31.4% vs. 27.2%; p = 0.330). After adjusting for potential confounders, indirect transfer was not associated with MACE (adjusted hazard ratio: 0.740, 95% confidence interval: 0.485-1.128, p = 0.161). In conclusion, indirect transfer was not associated with poor clinical outcomes in patients with STEMI who were supposed to select either direct transport or indirect transport.

The efficacy and safety of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for coronary artery disease has been established, and approximately 250,000 PCI procedures are performed annually in Japan. However, various complications including life-threatening complications can occur during PCI. Although several bailout procedures have been proposed to address complications during PCI, it is critically important for operators to manage each complication in real catheter rooms with confidence even in emergent situations. Standard bailout methods including specific techniques should be clarified as algorithms and shared with inexperienced operators as well as experienced operators. The Task Force of the Japanese Society for Cardiovascular Intervention and Therapeutics (CVIT) has developed the expert consensus document on bailout algorithms for complications in PCI.

Objective Triple-vessel disease (TVD) is a well-established prognostic factor for patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, there is a paucity of literature regarding the risk factors for in-hospital death in patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and TVD. In this retrospective study, we examined the determinants of in-hospital death in patients with NSTEMI and TVD who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for culprit lesions. Methods The primary objective of this study was to identify the factors associated with in-hospital death using a multivariate analysis. We included 253 patients with NSTEMI and TVD and divided them into a survivor group (n=239) and an in-hospital death group (n=14). Results Systolic blood pressure (SBP) at admission was significantly higher in the survivor group than in the in-hospital death group. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was also higher in the survivor group than in the in-hospital death group. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, in-hospital death was inversely associated with the SBP at admission (odds ratio [OR] 0.984, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.970-0.999, p<0.035) and eGFR (OR 0.966, 95% CI 0.939-0.994, p=0.019) and was associated with cardiopulmonary arrest (CPA) before PCI (OR 8.448, 95%CI 1.863-38.309, p=0.006). Conclusion In-hospital death was associated with CPA before PCI and inversely associated with the SBP at admission and eGFR in patients with NSTEMI and TVD who underwent PCI for the culprit lesion. It may be important to recognize these high-risk features in order to improve the clinical outcomes of patients with NSTEMI and TVD.

BACKGROUND: The clinical outcomes of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) due to the occlusion of left coronary artery are worse in patients with proximal occlusion than in those with non-proximal occlusion. However, there are few reports that focus on the comparison of clinical outcomes in patients with STEMI between proximal and non-proximal right coronary artery (RCA) occlusions. METHODS: We included 356 patients with STEMI whose infarct-related artery is RCA and divided them into the proximal group (n = 129) and the non-proximal group (n = 227). We defined segment 1 of RCA as proximal, and segments 2, 3, and 4 as non-proximal according to the reporting system of the American Heart Association. The primary endpoint was major cardiovascular events (MACE), which was defined as the composite of all-cause death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, readmission for heart failure, and ischemia-driven target vessel revascularization. RESULTS: Incidence of shock at admission, requirement for catecholamine during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), or mechanical support during PCI tended to be higher in the proximal group (42.6 %) than in the non-proximal group (33.5 %) (p = 0.088). Although the incidence of right ventricular infarction tended to be higher in the proximal group (17.8 %) than in the non-proximal group (10.6 %) without reaching statistical significance (p = 0.072), the incidence of in-hospital death was similar between the 2 groups (1.6 % versus 1.8 %, p = 1.000). The MACE-free survival curves were not different between the 2 groups (p = 0.400). Multivariate Cox hazard analysis revealed that proximal RCA occlusion was not associated with MACE (HR 1.095, 95%CI 0.691-1.737, p = 0.699). CONCLUSIONS: Although the acute phase conditions such as shock or right ventricular infarction tended to be more severe in patients with proximal occlusion, overall clinical outcomes including long-term outcomes were comparable between the proximal and distal RCA occlusions. Furthermore, multivariate analysis showed that the proximal RCA occlusion was not associated with MACE after hospital discharge.

Killip classification has been used to stratify the risk of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). There were many reports that Killip class 3 or 4 is closely associated with poor clinical outcomes. In other words, Killip class 1 or 2 is associated with favorable clinical outcomes in patients with AMI, especially when patients received primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, some patients with Killip class 1/2 suffer from serious in-hospital complications. This study aimed to identify factors associated with serious in-hospital complications of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in patients with Killip class 1/2. The primary endpoint was serious in-hospital complications defined as the composite of in-hospital death and mechanical complications. We included 809 patients with STEMI, and divided them into the non-complication group (n = 791) and the complication group (n = 18). In-hospital death was observed in 14 patients (1.7%), and mechanical complications were observed in 4 patients (0.5%). Final TIMI flow ≤ 2 was more frequently observed in the complication group (33.3%) than in the non-complication group (5.4%) (p < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that serious in-hospital complication was associated with final TIMI flow grade ≤ 2 (Odds ratio 6.040, 95% confidence interval 2.042-17.870, p = 0.001). In conclusion, serious in-hospital complication of STEMI was associated with insufficient final TIMI flow grade in patients with Killip class 1/2. If final TIMI flow grade is suboptimal after primary PCI, we may recognize the potential risk of serious complications even when patients presented as Killip class 1/2.