ORIGINAL ARTICLES   

Minerva Cardioangiologica 2005 February;53(1):7-14

Copyright © 2005 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English, Italian

No reflow in patients undergoing primary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction at high risk: incidence and predictive factors

Romano M., Buffoli F., Lettieri C., Aroldi M., Tomasi L., Baccaglioni N., Rosiello R., Zanini R.

Aim. Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is a consolidated therapeutic strategy for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), but achieving a TIMI 3 flow does not always correspond to true tissue reperfusion. The aim of the study was to evaluate the incidence and predictive factors of no reflow in patients undergoing primary angioplasty (PCI) for AMI at high risk, in the setting of a provincial cardiological emergency network.
Methods. We retrospectively analyzed the ECGs of 360 consecutive patients undergoing primary PCI, between 2001-2004, recorded before and 90 min after the procedure, and compared them with the angiographic data.
Results. The patients were divided into 2 groups: group A (reperfused) with a >50% reduction in ST and group B (no reflow) with a <50% reduction in ST but a TIMI 3 flow in the epicardial vessel. The 2 groups were comparable in terms of mean age, sex, diabetes and AMI site. However, there were statistically significant differences between the groups in terms of precoronary time, Killip class IV, ejection fraction, mean leukocyte count, C-reactive protein, and the periprocedural administration of abciximab. Total mortality was 6%: 14% in group B vs 3% in group A.
Conclusion. Our data show that a fair percentage of patients (24%) with a TIMI 3 flow after PCI during ST-elevation MI do not show ECG signs of effective reperfusion and have a higher in-hospital mortality rate. Precoronary time and the inflammatory phlogistic substrate are important independent predictors of no reflow. Pretreatment with abciximab, particularly if it is not periprocedural, can prevent the occurrence of no reflow.