Acute coronary syndrome in 1366 patients at Siriraj Hospital: clinical characteristics, management and in-hospital outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the baseline characteristics, management and in-hospital outcomes of all patients admitted with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). MATERIAL AND METHOD: The present study is a prospective, observational study of all consecutive patients admitted with ACS. From August 1, 2002 through October 31, 2005, data from 1366 ACS patients were collected. RESULTS: The patients were classified according to the final discharge diagnosis as ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI, 33.5%), non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI, 47%) and unstable angina (UA, 19.5%). Approximately half of the patients were older than 65 years old. The STEMI patients were significantly younger and had a higher percentage of men than the NSTE-ACS patients. There was a very high prevalence of diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia in the patients. Only 60% of the STEMI patients received reperfusion therapy. Of these, primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was performed more frequently (35%) than thrombolytic therapy (24%). There were substantial delays in time to treatment. Median door to needle and door to balloon time were 135 and 130 minutes respectively. Half of the NSTEMI and UA patients underwent coronary angiography and about one-third had PCI or coronary artery bypass grafting in the same hospital admission. In-hospital mortality rate was high: STEMI 19%, NSTEMI 16% and UA 4%. CONCLUSION: The present study provides invaluable information regarding the spectrum of ACS in our country. Overall in-hospital mortality was higher than that reported from international registries. The present findings represent a significant opportunity for quality improvement in the care of patients with ACS and the implementation of preventive strategies for patients with and at risk for coronary artery disease.

Primary percutaneous transluminal coronary intervention compared with intravenous thrombolysis in patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: Primary percutaneous transluminal coronary intervention (PCI) and thrombolytic therapy (TT) are alternative means of achieving reperfusion in patients with acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). OBJECTIVE: To compare the outcomes between both reperfusion strategies. The authors sought to compare in-hospital outcomes after PCI or TT for patients with acute STEMI. MATERIAL AND METHOD: From August 2002 through June 2004, data from all patients who received reperfusion therapy for acute STEMI were collected prospectively. The decision regarding type of reperfusion strategy was at the attending cardiologist's discretion. The patient's data on demographics, procedures, medications, and in-hospital outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS: From August 2002 through June 2004, 234 patients were admitted to the authors' institute with the diagnosis of acute STEMI. Of the 146 patients who received reperfusion therapy, 91 were treated with primary PCI and 55 received intravenous TT as the reperfusion modality. In the TT group, 51 (93%) patients received streptokinase and 11 (21.6%) underwent rescue angioplasty. The two groups had similar baseline characteristics. Both patient groups had frequent presence of diabetes (PCI 44.2% vs. TT 39.6%, p = 0. 6). Cardiogenic shock on admission was present in 11% of the PCI patients and 7.3% of the TT patients (p = ns). In-hospital mortality was not significantly different in the two groups (PCI 14.3% vs. TT 10. 9%, p = 0.56). In the TT group, there was a trend toward a higher rate of major bleeding (PCI 6.6% vs. TT 16.4%, p = 0.06) and stroke (PCI 2.2% vs. TT 7.3%, p = 0.13) complications without statistical significance. CONCLUSION: The present findings suggest that both PCI and TT are comparable alternative methods of reperfusion among STEMI patients in terms of in-hospital mortality. In certain subgroups that are at increased risk of bleeding or stroke, primary PCI may be the preferred treatment strategy.