Role of coronary angiography in patients with a non-diagnostic electrocardiogram following out of hospital cardiac arrest: Rationale and design of the multicentre randomized controlled COUPE trial.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major cause of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). The role of emergency coronary angiography (CAG) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) following cardiac arrest in patients without ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) remains unclear. AIMS: We aim to assess whether emergency CAG and PCI, when indicated, will improve survival with good neurological outcome in post-OHCA patients without STEMI who remain comatose. METHODS: COUPE is a prospective, multicentre and randomized controlled clinical trial. A total of 166 survivors of OHCA without STEMI will be included. Potentially non-cardiac aetiology of the cardiac arrest will be ruled out prior to randomization. Randomization will be 1:1 for emergency (within 2 h) or deferred (performed before discharge) CAG. Both groups will receive routine care in the intensive cardiac care unit, including therapeutic hypothermia. The primary efficacy endpoint is a composite of in-hospital survival free of severe dependence, which will be evaluated using the Cerebral Performance Category Scale. The safety endpoint will be a composite of major adverse cardiac events including death, reinfarction, bleeding and ventricular arrhythmias. CONCLUSIONS: This study will assess the efficacy of an emergency CAG versus a deferred one in OHCA patients without STEMI in terms of survival and neurological impairment.

Outcomes of Nonagenarians With ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

Although older adults are the fastest-growing age group among cardiovascular patients, nonagenarians with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) are under-represented in clinical trials. The aims of this study are to analyze the clinical presentation and outcomes of nonagenarian patients presenting with STEMI and to compare in-hospital and 1-year clinical outcomes between those treated with optimal medical treatment alone and those receiving primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI). We included all consecutive nonagenarians presenting with STEMI admitted in 2 academic centers between 2006 and 2018. There were no exclusion criteria. All-cause mortality was assessed in-hospital and at 1-year follow-up. In total, 167 patients (mean age 91.9 ± 0.17 years; 60% females) were included. Emergent catheterization was performed in 60% of our patients, and pPCI was performed in 50% (n = 83). Overall mortality was 22% in-hospital and 41% at 1-year follow-up. The pPCI group had lower mortality than the medical treatment group: 12% versus 32% in-hospital (p <0.01) and 26% versus 45% at 1-year follow-up (p <0.01), respectively. Multivariable analysis identified 4 independent predictors of all-cause mortality at 1 year: mechanical complications (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 9.25, p <0.01), Killip class III/IV (adjusted OR 4.22, p <0.01), serum creatinine at admission (mg/dl; adjusted OR 1.8, p <0.01), and pPCI (adjusted OR 0.52; p <0.05). In conclusion, STEMI in nonagenarians is becoming increasingly common. pPCI may be the preferred strategy in this high-risk cohort when a high grade of disability is not present. Hemodynamic compromise, the presence of complications related to myocardial infarction, renal impairment, and early revascularization may be related to prognosis in these patients.