Clopidogrel as adjunctive antiplatelet therapy during coronary stenting

OBJECTIVES

We examined the procedural and 30-day clinical outcomes among patients receiving aspirin and either ticlopidine or clopidogrel during coronary stenting.

BACKGROUND

Ticlopidine-plus-aspirin has become standard antiplatelet therapy for the prevention of thrombotic complications after coronary stenting. Clopidogrel has a similar mechanism of action as ticlopidine, but both its efficacy and its safety as a pharmacologic adjunct to coronary stenting have not been well described.

METHODS

This single-center, prospective analysis examined the in-hospital procedural and 30-day clinical outcomes among 875 consecutive patients undergoing coronary stenting who received adjunctive aspirin and either clopidogrel (n = 514; 58.7%) or ticlopidine (n = 361; 41.3%) therapy.

RESULTS

Procedural success rates were similar among the clopidogrel- (99.6%) and ticlopidine-treated patients (99.4%). Subacute stent thrombosis (i.e., >24 h ≤30 days) occurred in one clopidogrel-treated (0.2%) and in one ticlopidine-treated (0.3%) patient (p = 0.99). By 30 days following the index procedure, the combined rates of death, nonfatal myocardial infarction and need for target vessel revascularization were similar among patients who received either clopidogrel (2.1%) or ticlopidine (1.4%; p = 0.57) therapy.

CONCLUSIONS

In this analysis the antiplatelet combination therapy of aspirin-plus-clopidogrel was an effective regimen for preventing thrombotic complications and major adverse cardiovascular events among a broad spectrum of patients undergoing coronary artery stenting.     

Estrogen-related receptor α in normal adrenal cortex and adrenocortical tumors: Involvement in development and oncogenesis

Aims

The nuclear hormone receptor estrogen-related receptor α (ERRα) regulates the activation of mitochondrial genes in various human tissues, but its role in the adrenal gland and its disorders has not been defined. Therefore, we examined ERRα expression in both normal adrenal cortex (NAC) and adrenocortical tumor (ACT) in order to study the possible correlation of ERRα with adrenal development and tumor development.

Methods

Human adrenal specimens (non-pathological fetal n = 7; non-pathological post-birth n = 40; aldosterone producing adenoma (APA) n = 11; cortisol producing adenoma (CPA) n = 11; adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) n = 8) were immunohistochemically examined in this study. NAC (n = 13) and ACT (n = 28) frozen tissue specimens were also available for studying ERRα mRNA levels.

Key findings

In fetal NAC tissues, ERRα labeling index (LI) in fetal zone (FZ) was significantly higher that that in neocortex (NC), and the differences among age groups for overall mean LI was statistically significant when analyzed according to individual cortical layers. ERRα LI was also significantly higher in ACC than in other types of ACT. ERRα mRNA was detected in NAC and all types of ACT.

Significance

Results of our present study suggest a possible role of ERRα in adrenal development and ACC.     

Relationship between Exercise-Induced Bronchospasm (EIB) and Asthma Control Test (ACT) in Asthmatic Children

Objective. Evaluate the relationship between Asthma Control Test? (ACT) and exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB) in 81 asthmatic children. Methods. EIB was assessed in every patient by Balke protocol and asthma control was evaluated by ACT. Patients were divided into three groups: Group A (30 patients) with complete asthma control (ACT score = 25), Group B (37 patients) with partial asthma control (ACT score = 21–24), and Group C (14 patients) with poor asthma control (ACT score < 20). Results. About 36% (11/30) of patients in Group A (with complete asthma control) tested positive for EIB, whereas 21% (8/37) in Group B (with partial asthma control) and 28% (4/14) in Group C (with poor asthma control) exhibited EIB. The percentage of positive EIB was very similar between the three groups with no differences between controlled, partially controlled, and uncontrolled asthma. Statistical evaluation by χ²-test between complete (ACT score = 25) and not complete asthma control (ACT score < 24) confirmed a statistically significant difference (p < .01) between the obtained data. Conclusions. It must be stated that ACT alone is not sufficient to evaluate asthma control in children correctly because it fails to detect EIB in a significant percentage of subjects.     

Use of angioplasty in the management of complicated perioperative infarction following bypass surgery

The optimal level of heparin anticoagulation for elective PTCA is unknown. To determine if PTCA complications are related to the level of anticoagulation, serial ACT values were prospectively measured in 189 patients undergoing 201 elective PTCA procedures. The mean heparin dose before balloon inflation (pre-inflation) was 10,100 units, and the mean dose per procedure was 13,200 units. The mean pre-inflation ACT was 295 sec, but was <300 sec in more than 50% of patients. Acute complications were not related to any ACT parameter and the development of new intracoronary thrombus was not observed. In elective PTCA procedures, the routine monitoring of ACT values is unnecessary when standard heparin doses are used. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Activated clotting times in acute coronary syndromes and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty

A discrete fall in the ACT (activated coagulation time) has been observed in patients with known activation of the coagulation cascade. Injury to the coronary artery resulting in thrombin activation, whether spontaneous as in the case of acute myocardial infarction or planned as with percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), may there-fore be reflected in a change in ACT values. We reviewed the records of patients under-going PTCA at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital/Texas Heart Institute from January 1990 through December 1992 for information regarding ACT values and clinical events. A total of 469 patients, whose record contained adequate information for study inclusion, were divided into four separate groups: acute myocardial infarction (group I, n = 62), unstable angina with heparin therapy that was withdrawn at least 4 hr prior to PTCA (group II, n = 102), unstable angina with heparin therapy continued until the time of PTCA (group III, n = 154), and stable angina undergoing elective PTCA (group IV, n = 151). Heparin was discontinued 12–15 hr after the procedure in all but group I where anticoagulation was often maintained up to 72 hr. ACT values were measured prior to the PTCA procedure (baseline), after the initial heparin bolus of 10,000 U (postheparin) and ～ 12–18 hr after the procedure (heparin withdrawal). The “baseline” ACT was significantly lower in patients with unstable angina (93 ± 13 sec) or acute myocardial infarction (78 ± 9 sec) who had their baseline value obtained off of heparin therapy than in patients with stable angina (136 ± 21 sec) or those receiving heparin at the time of baseline measurement (135 ± 14 sec, P < 0.001). All patients with unstable coronary syndromes had a blunted response to heparin (group 1–189 sec, group II-221 sec, group III-248 sec). Although groups I-III were not significantly different compared to one another, each was significantly lower than group IV whose past heparin ACT was 279 sec. Heparin withdrawal ACT values fell within the ranges seen in patients with unstable coronary syndromes untreated with heparin in all but group I (whose heparin therapy was continued through the time of the 12–18-hr postprocedure measurement time). Recurrent ischemic events were seen with increased frequency (16.6%) only in patients with unstable angina whose heparin therapy was interrupted prior to PTCA. In conclusion, low baseline ACT values and a blunted ACT response to heparin are associated with clinical syndromes known to result from thrombus formation. The possibility that the ACT may be of value in reflecting thrombus activity requires prospective evaluation.     

Novel Approaches for Preventing or Limiting Events (Naples) III Trial: Randomized Comparison of Bivalirudin Versus Unfractionated Heparin in Patients at Increased Risk of Bleeding Undergoing Transfemoral Elective Coronary Stenting

ObjectivesThis study sought to assess the safety and the efficacy of bivalirudin compared with unfractionated heparin (UFH) alone in the subset of patients at increased risk of bleeding undergoing transfemoral elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).BackgroundBivalirudin, a synthetic direct thrombin inhibitor, determines a significant decrease of in-hospital bleeding following PCI.MethodsThis is a single-center, investigator-initiated, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial. Consecutive biomarker-negative patients at increased bleeding risk undergoing PCI through the femoral approach were randomized to UFH (UFH group; n = 419) or bivalirudin (bivalirudin group; n = 418). The primary endpoint was the rate of in-hospital major bleeding.ResultsThe primary endpoint occurred in 11 patients (2.6%) in the UFH group versus 14 patients (3.3%) in the bivalirudin group (odds ratio: 0.78; 95% confidence interval: 0.35 to 1.72; p = 0.54). Distribution of access-site and non–access-site bleeding was 18% and 82% in the UFH group versus 50% and 50% in the bivalirudin group (p = 0.10).ConclusionsThe results of this randomized study, carried out at a single institution, suggest that there is no difference in major bleeding rate between bivalirudin and UFH in increased-risk patients undergoing transfemoral PCI. (Novel Approaches in Preventing and Limiting Events III Trial: Bivalirudin in High-Risk Bleeding Patients [NAPLES III]; NCT01465503)     

全胃切除消化道重建方式的探讨

目的：探讨全胃切除后消化道重建方式的合理选择。方法：回顾性分析86例全胃切除患者的临床资料。结果：86例患者中，胃癌76例，恶性淋巴瘤8例，平滑肌肉瘤2例；Ⅱ期17例，Ⅲ期48例，Ⅳ期21例。根治性全胃切除48例，姑息性全胃切除38例，其中联合脏器切除28例，肝动脉置MT药泵28例。消化道重建方式：食道十二指肠吻合术12例，食道空肠袢式吻合术15例，食道空肠Roux en Y吻合术29例，间置空肠加袋术30例。术后并发症18例，其中吻合口漏3例，胰瘘1例。术后症状：烧心21例，倾倒综合症18例，餐后上腹饱胀15例，腹泻12例，吞咽困难9例。结论：全胃切除后，间置空肠加袋术在改善患者术后症状和生活质量等方面是比较理想的重建术式。     

Relationship Between the Heparin Management Test and the HemoTec Activated Clotting Time in Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Point-of-care whole blood coagulation tests are critical in the management of patients who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention. The Hemochron and HemoTec devices have been traditionally used to measure the activated clotting time (ACT) in the cardiac catheterization laboratory. The heparin management test (HMT) was recently introduced into clinical practice as an alternative method to current ACT measurements that uses a different sample volume, contact activators and detection system to measure whole blood coagulation. We compared the HMT to the HemoTec ACT in 68 prospectively enrolled patients (127 blood samples) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. Measurements were performed 10 minutes after the initial heparin bolus and thereafter at the discretion of the attending physician. The mean HMT was 41 seconds higher (15%) than the HemoTec ACT (HMT 304±59 vs. ACT 263±52, P< 0.0001), but there was a significant correlation between the methods (r=0.77, P<0.0001). However, there was increasing disagreement between the two methods as the level of anticoagulation increased. The relationship between HMT and ACT was similar in patients in whom glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors were used. The HMT, therefore, appears to be more sensitive to heparin anticoagulation that the HemoTec ACT and correlates well with it in the range required for percutaneous coronary intervention.     

应用ACT评估哮喘患者健康教育效果

目的研究健康教育对哮喘患者哮喘知识和哮喘控制效果的影响。方法设立对照组和教育组进行病例对照研究,每组58例。结果健康教育前,教育组和对照组的健康知识总分分别为（54．37±8．37）和（54．02±9．28）,差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）;健康教育后,两组健康知识总分分别为（70．60±10．11）和（55．39±8．58）,差异有高度统计学意义（P〈0．01）。健康教育前,对照组和教育组ACT得分无明显差异（P〉0．05）;健康教育后,教育组内完全控制和控制良好者的比例为77．42％,明显高于对照组的56．45％（P〈0．01）;而教育组哮喘没有得到控制的比例为22．58％,明显低于对照组的43．55％（P〈0．01）。结论健康教育可增加患者的哮喘知识,改善他们的行为方式,提高其哮喘控制能力。