Safety of Bivalirudin Combined with Ticagrelor in the Emergency PCI in Patients with Acute ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to investigate the application safety of bivalirudin combined with ticagrelor in the emergency percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). METHODS: From October 1, 2018, to December 30, 2019, 210 patients with STEMI admitted to the Department of Cardiology who underwent emergency PCI were randomly divided into the bivalirudin group (group A, N = 105) and the unfractionated heparin group (group B, N = 105). Before the emergency PCI operation after admission, the loading dose of aspirin (300 mg) was given orally, and then 100 mg/d. At the same time, the loading dose of ticagrelor (180 mg) was administered orally, and then 90 mg/bid. The adverse events and the hemorrhage events 30 days after the operation were observed and recorded. RESULTS: There were five hemorrhage cases in the bivalirudin group, with one case of secondary hemorrhage and four cases of mild hemorrhage. There were 14 hemorrhages in the unfractionated heparin group with one case of secondary hemorrhage and thirteen cases of mild hemorrhage. In terms of mild hemorrhage, the hemorrhage rate in the bivalirudin group was significantly lower than that in the unfractionated heparin group (3.8% vs. 12.4%, P = 0.040). One patient died in the unfractionated heparin group, while no deaths occurred in the bivalirudin group during the thirty days of follow-up. No myocardial infarction, revascularization, or stroke occurred in the two groups within 30 days after the operation. CONCLUSION: Compared with unfractionated heparin combined with ticagrelor in patients with STEMI undergoing emergency PCI treatment, bivalirudin combined with ticagrelor could significantly reduce the occurrence of mild hemorrhage events, and it would not increase the incidence of MACE during the 30 days of follow-up.

Effect of intravenous application of nicorandil on area of myocardial infarction in patients with STEMI during the perioperative stage of PCI.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of nicorandil in improving the area of myocardial infarction in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). METHODS: One hundred and twenty patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) admitted to our hospital between December 1, 2018 and December 31, 2019 were selected and randomly allocated to the experimental group (group A, n = 60) and the control group (group B, n = 60). In the experimental group, an infusion of nicorandil was given intravenously before the first balloon dilation or 1 minute before the stent placement, and with the completion of the infusion, nicorandil maintenance infusion was given. In the control group, only balloon dilation and stent placement were undertaken. RESULTS: The postoperative peak levels of myoglobin, creatine kinase isoform and hypersensitive troponin T were significantly lower in group A than in group B (p < 0.05). Moreover, the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) on the 180th day post operation was substantially greater in group A than in group B (p < 0.01), and the area of myocardial infarction was significantly smaller in patients in group A than those in group B on the 180th day post operation (p < 0.01). In terms of the safety, there were no statistically significant differences in the incidence of slow flow/no reflow, malignant arrhythmias, and hypotension within 24 hours post operation between the two groups (p > 0.05), and no major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) occurred in either group during the postoperative follow-up period of 180 days (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Intravenous administration of nicorandil in patients with STEMI during the perioperative percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) period was effective in reducing the area of myocardial infarction and myocardial injury without increasing the incidence of malignant arrhythmias, hypotension, or composite cardiovascular events during the drug administration period.