ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Around 15-20% of lesions necessitating percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) are attributed to coronary bifurcation lesions. We aim to study gender-based differences in PCI outcomes among bifurcation stents. METHODS: 3 studies were included after thorough systematic search using MEDLINE (EMBASE and PubMed). CRAN-R software using the Metabin module was used for statistical analysis. Pooled odds ratios (OR) were calculated using the random effect model and the Mantel-Haenszel method, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) used to determine statistical significance. Heterogeneity was assessed using Higgins I2. RESULT: Women exhibited a higher risk of in-hospital mortality (OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.58-0.76, I2 = 0%, P < 0.0001), post-procedural bleeding (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.47-0.6, I2 = 0%, P < 0.0001) and post-procedure stroke (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.52-1.0, I2 = 0%, P < 0.06) as compared to men. However, there were no significant differences in terms of myocardial infarction (OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.22-3.27, I2 = 49.4%, P < 0.80) and cardiac tamponade (OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.06; 5.72, I2 = 0%, P < 0.6821) in both groups. CONCLUSION: Our study reveals a noteworthy increase in in-hospital mortality in women, which could be attributed to a higher rate of major bleeding, advanced age, increased co-morbidities, and complex pathophysiology of the lesion in comparison to men. Further studies are required to gain a better understanding of the precise mechanisms thus enhancing procedural outcomes.
ABSTRACT
Iron deficiency is an independent risk factor for heart failure (HF) exacerbation. We aim to study the safety and efficacy of intravenous (IV) iron therapy in patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). A literature search was conducted on MEDLINE (Embase and PubMed) using a systematic search strategy by PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) until October 2022. CRAN-R software (The R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria) was used for statistical analysis. The quality assessment was performed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias and Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. We included 12 studies with a total of 4,376 patients (IV iron n = 1,985 [45.3%]; standard of care [SOC] n = 2,391 [54.6%]). The mean age was 70.37 ± 8.14 years and 71.75 ± 7.01 years in the IV iron and SOC groups, respectively. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality (risk ratio [RR] 0.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.74 to 1.04, p <0.15). However, HF readmissions were significantly lower in the IV iron group (RR 0.73, 95% CI 0.56 to 0.96, p = 0.026). Non-HF cardiac readmissions were not significantly different between the IV iron and SOC groups (RR 0.92, 95% CI 0.82 to 1.02, p = 0.12). In terms of safety, there was a similar rate of infection-related adverse events in both arms (RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.74 to 1, p = 0.05). IV iron therapy in patients with HFrEF is safe and shows a significant reduction in HF hospitalizations compared with SOC. There was no difference in the rate of infection-related adverse events. The changing landscape of HFrEF pharmacotherapy in the last decade may warrant a re-demonstration of the benefit of IV iron with current SOC. The cost-effectiveness of IV iron use also needs further study.
