Acute and Subacute Stent Thrombosis in a Patient With Clopidogrel Resistance: A Case Report

Drug-eluting stents (DES) are considered the treatment of choice for most patients with obstructive coronary artery disease when percutaneous intervention (PCI) is feasible. However, stent thrombosis seems to occur more frequently with DES and occasionally is associated with resistance to anti-platelet drugs. We have experienced a case of recurrent stent thrombosis in a patient with clopidogrel resistance. A 63-year-old female patient suffered from acute myocardial infarction and underwent successful PCI of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) with two DESs. She was found to be hyporesponsive to clopidogrel and was treated with triple anti-platelet therapy (aspirin 100 mg, clopidogrel 75 mg, and cilostazol 200 mg daily). Three days after discharge, she developed chest pain and was again taken to the cardiac catheterization laboratory, where coronary angiography (CAG) showed total occlusion of the mid-LAD where the stent had been placed. After intravenous administration of a glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor, balloon angioplasty was performed, resulting in Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) III antegrade flow. The next day, however, she complained of severe chest pain, and the electrocardiogram showed marked ST-segment elevation in V1-V6, I, and aVL with complete right bundle branch block. Emergent CAG revealed total occlusion of the proximal LAD due to stent thrombosis. She was successfully treated with balloon angioplasty and was discharged with triple anti-platelet therapy.

Comparison of the prognosis of patients with acute ST-elevation and non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction / 대한내과학회지

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) have different therapeutic strategies. This study assessed the risk factors, therapeutic strategies, clinical outcomes, and prognostic factors of STEMI and NSTEMI. METHODS: Patients admitted to our hospital with a diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction between November 2005 and December 2006 were evaluated. We analyzed their baseline clinical characteristics, angiographic characteristics, in-hospital mortality, and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) during clinical follow-up for 1 year in patients with STEMI and NSTEMI. RESULTS: There were 447 STEMI patients and 186 NSTEMI patients. Smoking was the most common risk factor in both groups. In the STEMI group, primary percutaneous coronary intervention was performed in 85.0% and thrombolysis was performed in 7.2% of the patients. In the NSTEMI group, an early invasive strategy was chosen in 66.7% of the patients. The in-hospital mortality rate was 3.8% in the STEMI group and 3.2% in the NSTEMI group. The rates of MACE at 6 months and 1 year did not differ significantly between the groups (17.7% vs. 17.3% and 22.8% vs. 20.2%, respectively). Independent predictors of prognosis were diabetes mellitus, smoking, and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF)<40% on admission in the NSTEMI group, and serum troponin I in the STEMI group. Troponin I was the only predictor of prognosis in the STEMI group (p=0.047 vs. p=0.139). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with STEMI and NSTEMI had similar clinical outcomes during a 1-year clinical follow-up. Of the predictors of prognosis, troponin I is the only one in STEMI.