Platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor therapy in non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndromes

Platelet glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa inhibitors prevent fibrinogen binding and platelet aggregation. They decrease ischemic complications associated with non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndromes and percutaneous coronary intervention. Meta-analyses of 6 randomized trials of parenteral GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors in patients with acute coronary syndromes suggest a significant reduction in death and myocardial infarction in high risk patients. These include patients undergoing early percutaneous coronary intervention or those with high TIMI risk score, elevated troponin values, or diabetes mellitus. Despite guideline recommendations supporting therapy for these indications, only a minority of appropriate candidates are being treated. The risk of major bleeding is small; thrombocytopenia can result from abciximab therapy. Optimal dosing strategies continue to evolve.     

Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndromes

An issue, which is not addressed by the guidelines, is whether,in the absence of Sgarbossa's criteria, the association of acutecoronary syndrome (ACS) type chest pain¹ and left bundle branchblock (LBBB) falls within the province of     

Therapeutic implications of low lymphocyte count in non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndromes

BackgroundLow lymphocyte count (LLC), a surrogate for inflammation, has emerged as a potential risk factor for cardiovascular outcomes, especially new ischemic events. To identify patients with non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTEACS) who benefit from an invasive revascularization strategy remains a challenge. We sought to determine if patients with high-risk NSTEACS who exhibited LLC have a greater reduction in long-term post-discharge myocardial infarction (MI) when managed under a revascularization invasive strategy (RIS) as compared with conservative strategy (CS).MethodsNine hundred seventy two consecutive patients with high-risk NSTEACS were treated under two revascularization strategies (RS): 1) CS, from January 2001 to October 2002 (345 patients; 35.5%) and 2) RIS, from November 2002 to May 2005 (627 patients; 64.5%). LLC was defined as lymphocytes count ≤ 1200 cells/ml (1 vs. 2–4 quartiles). The association between the type of RS and MI was stratified by lymphocyte count status and assessed by Cox regression adapted for competing events.ResultsAt 3-year follow-up, 145 deaths (14.9%), 135 MI (13.9%) and 76 revascularization procedures (7.8%) were registered. In a multivariable setting, LLC patients exhibited a greater MI risk reduction when managed under RIS (HR: 0.40; 95% CI = 0.22–0.72, p = 0.003). Conversely, when LLC was not present, no difference in the rate of MI was detected between the two RS.ConclusionsLLC identifies a subgroup of patients with greater reduction in the risk of postdischarge MI when a RIS is applied.     

Intravenous glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibition in non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndromes

Over recent years, substantial clinical trial evidence regarding glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibition for the medical management of non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndromes has been compiled. Despite being recently advocated for the management of coronary instability within widely accepted guidelines, its use among patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes remains somewhat contentious. Within randomized placebo-controlled trials, uniform efficacy with the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors has not been shown, whereas a disturbing excess in adverse events is evident within some trials. Currently, the basis for this heterogeneity of clinical evidence has not been adequately explained. However, evolving insights from clinical trials and basic research have further refined our understanding of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa antagonist therapy and the potential effects beyond the inhibition of the fibrinogen receptor. Likewise, appreciation of the pharmacokinetic characteristics of these agents provides putative explanations for the diverse findings of the randomized trials. Reexamination of the clinical trial data in light of this recent evidence provides a basis for interpreting the marginal results of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibition in acute coronary syndromes. Consideration of these factors may facilitate the optimal clinical application of this class of agents to the management of coronary instability.     

Prognostic markers of non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes

OBJECTIVES: We analyzed whether the study of systolic function by echocardiography adds independent information to that afforded by biochemical markers in predicting six-month major events after non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome. PATIENTS AND METHOD: Baseline clinical and electrocardiographic data as well as serum concentrations of troponin, myoglobin, C-reactive protein, fibrinogen and homocysteine were recorded prospectively in 515 consecutive patients admitted because of non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome. Ejection fraction (echocardiogram) was determined in 248 cases (48%). Predictors of cardiac death or infarction within the following six months were analyzed. RESULTS: In the 248 patients in whom ejection fraction was analyzed, 38 major events were recorded. Increased biochemical markers were related to major events (p < 0.05 for all markers). In the final multivariate model, which included clinical, electrocardiographic, serological and systolic function data, ejection fraction was the most powerful predictor of six-month major events: age > 70 years (p = 0,04), insulin-dependent diabetes (p = 0.03), C-reactive protein > 11 mg/l (p = 0.004) and ejection fraction < 50% (p < 0.0001); C-statistic = 0.80. CONCLUSIONS: Apart from the clinical and biochemical profile, analysis of systolic function is advisable for correct risk stratification of patients with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome.     

非ST段抬高急性冠脉综合征患者血清脑型利钠肽的临床意义

目的通过检测血清脑型利钠肽(BNP)水平,探讨血清BNP对非ST段抬高急性冠脉综合征(NSTEACS)的早期诊断、危险分层、预后判断以及治疗选择的意义。方法选择2006年11月至2007年4月两院急诊及心内科住院患者,NSTEACS病例36例,男性28例,女性8例,年龄43～74(61.2±12.0)岁,其中不稳定型心绞痛(UAP)27例,非ST段抬高的心肌梗死(NSTEMI)9例,进行血清BNP含量的测定,采用酶联免疫吸附法(ELESA)与AP组、健康对照组比较,BNP与传统心脏标志物cTnI比较,并对NSTEACS患者随访1个月。结果NSTEMI组BNP(576.68±89.42)和UAP组BNP(144.12±29.64)与AP组、健康对照组比较明显增高,差异有统计学意义,BNP较肌钙蛋白(cTnI)敏感。1个月的随防不良事件发生率,再发心绞痛为50%,充血性心衰为8.33%,总发生率为69.4%。结论NSTEACS患者BNP明显增高,且BNP的升高要早于cTnI,表明BNP可以作为ACS的敏感性的指标,1个月的随访不良事件发生率很高,说明NSTEACS病情轻重及预后与BNP成正相关。因此BNP在筛选NSTEACS方面表现出明显优越性,值得在临床上推广应用。     

不同剂量阿托伐他汀治疗非ST段抬高型急性冠脉综合征效果比较

目的比较不同剂量阿托伐他汀治疗非ST段抬高型急性冠脉综合征患者的临床效果。方法选取2017-01～2018-12间住院治疗的41例非ST段抬高型急性冠脉综合征患者,采用随机数字表法将其分为治疗组(n=21)和对照组(n=20)。两组患者均予常规治疗,治疗组在常规用药基础上加用20 mg阿托伐他汀;对照组在常规治疗基础上第1天口服80 mg阿托伐他汀,后继续服用阿托伐他汀40 mg/d,疗程均为6个月。比较两组患者治疗前后不同时间总胆固醇(TC)、低密度脂蛋白胆固醇(LDL-C)、三酰甘油(TG)等指标改变情况及心血管事件发生情况。结果治疗组与对照组在治疗后2周、4周及24周的血清TC、TG、LDL-C水平均低于治疗前,差异均有统计学意义(P0.05);在治疗后2周及4周时,对照组TC、LDL-C水平低于治疗组,而TG水平高于治疗组,差异均有统计学意义(P0.05)。在治疗24周时,治疗组与对照组TC、LDL-C、TG水平及心血管不良事件发生率比较差异无统计学意义(P0.05)。结论阿托伐他汀(20 mg/d)与阿托伐他汀(40 mg/d)治疗非ST段抬高型急性冠脉综合征,在降低血脂及减少心血管不良事件的发生上有着相似的作用,值得临床推广应用。     

Treating the right patient at the right time: access to care in non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndromes

In 2004, the Canadian Cardiovascular Society formed an Access to Care Working Group with a mandate to use the best science and information available to establish reasonable triage categories and safe wait times for common cardiovascular services and procedures through a series of commentaries. The present commentary discusses the rationale for access benchmarks for urgent cardiac catheterization and revascularization, including hospital transfer in the setting of non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes. The literature on standards of care, wait times, wait list management and clinical trials was reviewed. A survey of all cardiac catheterization directors in Canada was performed to develop an inventory of current practices in identifying and triaging patients. The Working Group recommended the following medically acceptable wait times for access to diagnostic catheterization and revascularization in patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes: for diagnostic catheterization and percutaneous coronary intervention, the target should be 24 h to 48 h for high-risk, three to five days for intermediate-risk and five to seven days for low-risk patients; for coronary artery bypass graft surgery, the target should be three to five days for high-risk, two to three weeks for intermediate-risk and six weeks for low-risk patients. All stakeholders must affirm the appropriateness of these standards and work continuously to achieve them. However, some questions remain around what are the best clinical risk markers to delineate the triage categories and the utility of clinical risk scores to assist clinicians in triaging patients for invasive therapies.     

The evolution of management of acute coronary syndromes (unstable angina and non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction): Part l

As I advanced through medical school at Johns Hopkins, and throughout my subsequent training, I was constantly reminded of the contributions made to medicine by our predecessors. Many of whom were at Johns Hopkins, but many were not. As I continue active involvement in the education of medical students and physicians, it seems to me we have not done a good job of relating the history of how the modern management of patients with cardiovascular disease developed to our students, house staff, and fellows.     

Metabolic syndrome is associated with extension of coronary artery disease in patients with non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndromes

BACKGROUND: Metabolic syndrome (MS) comprises a group of factors that are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular events. Acute coronary syndromes account for the most important part of cardiovascular events with considerable morbidity and mortality. We aimed to investigate the association of MS with extension of coronary artery disease in patients presenting with non-ST segment elevation (NSTE) acute coronary syndromes (ACS). METHODS: Three hundred and six consecutive patients (220 men, 86 women patients) with the diagnosis of NSTE ACS, who were hospitalized within the first 24 h of their chest pain in the coronary care unit, were prospectively enrolled into our study. Patients with elevation of troponins (T or I) were classified as NSTE myocardial infarction (MI) and otherwise as unstable angina pectoris (USAP). Components of MS were noted as previously identified. Coronary angiograms were evaluated by two authors, who were blinded to the study plan and each other, via Sullivan's method. RESULTS: MS was noted in 49% of all patients, and was significantly more common in women than in men (62.8 versus 43.6%, P=0.003). The mean total stenosis score of patients with MS was significantly higher than for those without MS (16+/-6 versus 12+/-5, P<0.001), and the mean extension score of patients with MS was significantly higher than for those without MS (63+/-29 versus 44+/-26, P<0.001). The presence of MS together with some clinical factors and poor total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio, hypertension and diabetes mellitus, was found to be independently predictive of extension of coronary artery disease (CAD) in a group of patients presenting with NSTE ACS. CONCLUSIONS: MS is independently associated with CAD extension, and hence, might account for poor cardiovascular outcomes through CAD extension in patients with NSTE ACS.     

Two different invasive versus noninvasive strategies in the management of non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes.

INTRODUCTION: Previous studies have evaluated the prognostic impact of early invasive strategies in the management of non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTEACS). There is, however, conflicting evidence about the advantages of such an approach. In some studies the benefits are dependent on gender or age, while time to angiography varies between studies. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of 222 patients admitted with NSTEACS between 1/1/2004 and 12/31/2004. The patients initially received intensive medical therapy and were divided into three groups according to the subsequent approach. In the early invasive strategy group (EIS; n = 62), angiography was performed in the first 48 hours; in delayed invasive strategy (DIS; n = 97), angiography was routinely performed but postponed beyond the first 48 hours; in the conservative strategy group (CS; n = 63), catheterization was performed only in cases of refractory angina or evidence of ischemia in non-invasive tests. We evaluated the occurrence of death or hospitalization due to cardiac cause during a mean follow-up of 549 days. RESULTS: The patients' mean age was 64.6 +/- 11.7 years and 66.7% were male. CS patients were older than the others (60.6 +/- 10.3 [EIS]; 63.2 +/- 11.2 [DIS]; 70.6 +/- 11.5 [CS]; p < 0.0005). The prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors was similar in the three groups. Ejection fraction (EF) at discharge was lower in the CS group (51.2% +/- 9.5; 51.3% +/- 7.4; 44.5% +/- 11.4; p < 0.0005). The primary endpoint occurred in 9.6%, 16.4% and 41.3% in the EIS, DIS and CS groups respectively. On multivariate analysis, after adjustment for age, EF and troponin I elevation, CS maintained the association with the endpoint (OR 5.17; 95% CI 1.64-16.32), while EF > 40% was inversely related to the endpoint. CONCLUSION: A conservative approach to NSTEACS was, in our population, associated with a worse prognosis. Delaying cardiac catheterization beyond the first 48 hours had no prognostic impact.     

非ST段抬高急性冠状动脉综合征患者介入治疗后应用替罗非班的临床疗效和安全性研究

目的:探讨非ST段抬高性急性冠状动脉综合征(NSTE-ACS)患者,成功经皮冠状动脉介入(PCI)治疗后,应用替罗非班的临床疗效和安全性。方法:180例成功进行PCI治疗的NSTE-ACS患者,随机分成实验组(PCI后即刻用替罗非班,92例)和对照组(PCI后即刻用0.9%氯化钠液,88例)。术前和术后36小时采用流式细胞仪检测PAC-1(血小板质膜表面变化的糖蛋白表位)、CD62p(血小板活化依赖性颗粒表面膜蛋白)数值;统计患者术后主要终点和次要终点事件,主要终点为术后1个月复合终点(死亡、心肌梗死、靶血管血运重建及缺血性脑卒中)事件发生率;次要终点为术后6个月复合终点事件发生率;同时统计术后出血事件并测定血小板数目。结果:两组患者的基线资料差异无统计学意义。相比治疗前,实验组患者的PAC-1(17.63±2.50)vs.(8.13±4.30)、CD62p(1.92±0.21)vs.(0.81±0.15)水平在治疗后均明显降低,差异具有统计学意义(P=0.000);术后1个月实验组复合终点事件发生率(3.2%)与对照组(2.3%)相比,差异无统计学意义,而术后6个月实验组复合终点事件发生率(3.2%)明显低于对照组(14.8%),差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。本研究中无严重出血和中度出血发生,实验组5例(5.4%)轻微出血,对照组3例(3.4%)轻微出血,差异无统计学意义;实验组血小板数目治疗前后无差异,且与对照组相比亦无差异(P>0.05)。结论:对于NSTE-ACS患者,成功PCI后应用替罗非班可以降低血小板活化度,提高术后6个月的无终点事件生存率,且不会增加出血和血小板减少并发症等不良反应发生率。     

非ST段抬高急性冠状动脉综合征诊疗策略新进展

随着对非ST段抬高急性冠状动脉综合征病理生理机制理解的不断深入,使其治疗方式不断得到提高,临床预后不断得到改善。低分子肝素、血小板膜糖蛋白Ⅱb/Ⅲa受体拮抗剂及早期再血管化治疗对高危的患者均显示出强大的临床益处,而氯吡格雷的益处似乎覆盖了所有的低、中、高危患者,直接凝血酶抑制剂的作用值得进一步探讨。危险分层策略是作出治疗决定的基础,为新治疗的选择提供了依据。     

非ST段抬高急性冠脉综合征合并2型糖尿病患者的冠脉病变特点

目的探讨非ST段抬高急性冠状动脉综合征（NSTEACS）合并2型糖尿病（T2DM）患者的临床特征和冠脉病变特点。方法将720例NSTEACS患者分为两组,A组合并T2DM,B组元T2DM,分析两组的冠脉病变特点。结果与B组比较,A组体质量指数高,有高甘油三酯血症史、冠心病史者多,住院期间心衰事件多,左室舒张末期内径和收缩末期内径增大,左室射血分数降低,血清甘油三酯、血糖、血糖变异系数（CV）增高;冠脉三支病变和左主干病变发生率高（P〈0．05,〈0．01）。结论NSTEACS合并T2DM患者冠脉病变较重,常有左心功能异常、代谢异常。     

Metabolic score--a simple risk marker in non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes.

BACKGROUND: Atherothrombotic coronary artery disease is increasingly recognized as part of a systemic metabolic disorder. However, little is known about the significance of metabolic dysfunction in the setting of acute coronary syndrome. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to assess the prognostic implications of markers of metabolic dysfunction at hospital admission obesity (BMI > 30), previous history of hypertension, admission glucose > 128 mg/dl, triglycerides > 150 mg/dl, and HDL cholesterol < 40 mg/dl for men, or < 50 mg for women--in patients with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes (ACS). METHODS: A total of 303 consecutive patients admitted to the CCU with ACS were included in the study. Mean age was 63 +/- 10 years, and 86% were male. The primary end-point was a composite of death or non-fatal acute myocardial infarction (MI) at one-year follow-up. Each marker was assigned one point, and a metabolic score (MetScore) was calculated for each individual patient by adding together the number of markers present at hospital admission. Three groups were considered: group 1 (MetScore 0) with 0 markers (n = 30); group 2 (MetScore 1 to 3) with 1 to 3 markers (n = 222); and group 3 (MetScore 4 to 5) with 4 to 5 markers (n = 51). RESULTS: The cumulative incidence of death or MI was 14.5%. We found a statistically significant relation between MetScore and outcome at one-year follow-up. The event rate was 3.3% in the MetScore 0 group, 13.9% in the MetScore 1 to 3 group and 23.5% in the MetScore 4 to 5 group (p = 0.0114). MetScore was an independent predictor of death or MI at one year, with a 2.3-fold risk increase (95% CI: 1.32-4.01; p = 0.003) from one group to the next. Other variables identified as independent predictors of outcome were advanced age, Killip class, ST-segment depression and previous CABG. The incidence of the primary end-point in diabetic patients without significant metabolic dysfunction and non-diabetic patients with SMD was similar (21.2% vs. 22.7%; p = NS). CONCLUSION: Assessment of markers of metabolic dysfunction on admission in patients with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes, adds important prognostic information to conventional clinical, ECG and risk stratification markers and could prove useful in establishing secondary prevention strategies.