Clinical Investigation
Acute Ischemic Heart Disease
Management patterns of non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndromes in relation to prior coronary revascularization

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2009.09.019Get rights and content

Background

Contemporary guidelines support an early invasive strategy for non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) patients who had prior coronary revascularization. However, little is known about the management pattern of these patients in “real world.”

Methods

We analyzed 3 consecutive Canadian registries (ACS I, ACS II, and Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events [GRACE]/expanded-GRACE) that recruited 12,483 NSTE-ACS patients from June 1999 to December 2007. We stratified the study population according to prior coronary revascularization status into 4 groups and compared their clinical characteristics, in-hospital use of medications, and cardiac procedures.

Results

Of the 12,483 NSTE-ACS patients, 71.2% had no prior revascularization, 14.2% had percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) only, 9.5% had coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) only, and 5% had both PCI and CABG. Compared to their counterparts without prior revascularization, patients with previous PCI and/or CABG were more likely to be male, to have diabetes, myocardial infarction, and heart failure but less likely to have ST-segment deviation or positive cardiac biomarker on presentation. Early use of evidence-based medications was higher among patients with previous PCI only and lower among patients with previous CABG only. After adjusting for possible confounders including GRACE risk score, prior PCI was independently associated with in-hospital use of cardiac catheterization (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.18, 95% CI 1.04-1.34, P = .008). In contrast, previous CABG was an independent negative predictor (adjusted OR .77, 95% CI 0.68-0.87, P < .001). There was no significant interaction (P = .93) between previous PCI and CABG.

Conclusions

The NSTE-ACS patients with previous PCI were more likely to be treated invasively. Conversely, patients with prior CABG less frequently received invasive therapy. Future studies should determine the appropriateness of this treatment discrepancy.

Section snippets

Study design

Details of the Canadian Acute Coronary Syndrome Registries (ACS I and ACS II)9, 10 and the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE/expanded-GRACE)5, 6, 7, 8 have been previously described. Briefly, the Canadian ACS Registries were prospective, multicenter, observational studies focusing on the epidemiology, management practices, and outcomes of ACS.9 In ACS Registry I, 51 Canadian hospitals provided data during the period between September 1999 and June 2001. Thirty-six Canadian centers

Study population characteristics

Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of 12,483 patients with NSTE-ACS, divided into 4 groups according to prior coronary revascularization status are shown in Table I. Of the 12,483 patients, 8,884 (71.2%) of patients had no prior revascularization, 1,773 (14.2%) had PCI only, 1,193 (9.5%) had CABG only, and 633 (5%) had both PCI and CABG. Overall, the median (25th-75th percentile) GRACE risk score was 119 (96-147).

Compared to the no prior PCI/CABG group, patients in the PCI only,

Discussion

In this large observational study, we found that patients with history of PCI presenting with NSTE-ACS were more likely to be managed invasively, which is consistent with the current guideline recommendations.4 Conversely, despite guideline recommendations, patients with previous CABG who were older, presented with worse Killip class and higher GRACE risk score, less frequently underwent cardiac catheterization and revascularization. Furthermore, early use of evidence-based medications was

Conclusions

Despite current guidelines recommendations and a higher risk profile, ACS patients with prior CABG were less likely to receive evidence-based medical and invasive therapies. Conversely, patients with previous PCI are more likely to receive intensive medical and invasive therapies, compared to the CABG group. More definitive data from randomized controlled trials may help to guide the optimal treatment of these ACS patients. Furthermore, quality improvement measures to ensure proper

Acknowledgements

We thank all the study investigators, coordinators, and patients who participated in the Canadian ACS Registries I and II and GRACE and expanded-GRACE. Dr Andrew Yan is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and a New Investigator Award from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.

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