Benefit of Facilitated Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in High-Risk ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction Patients Presenting to Nonpercutaneous Coronary Intervention Hospitals

ObjectivesWe hypothesized that patients most likely to benefit would be those at high risk with a shorter duration of acute ischemia and who required transfer for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).BackgroundThe FINESSE (Facilitated Intervention with Enhanced Reperfusion Speed to Stop Events) study failed to demonstrate an improvement in the 90-day composite clinical end point of early treatment with abciximab plus half-dose reteplase (combination-facilitated PCI) or abciximab alone.MethodsWe performed a retrospective analysis of 2,452 patients in this double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Patients were stratified by Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) risk score for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), presentation to a spoke (no PCI available) or hub site, and symptom-to-randomization time. Outcomes included the primary composite end point of death, ventricular fibrillation after 48 h, cardiogenic shock, and congestive heart failure through day 90 as well as 1-year mortality.ResultsMortality for all patients at 1 year was directly related to TIMI risk score (23 of 1,223 = 1.9% in patients with score <3 and 145 of 1,229 = 11.8% with score ≥3, p < 0.001). Patients with TIMI risk score ≥3 and presentation to a spoke site with a symptom-to-randomization time ≤4 h had significantly better 1-year survival if treated with combination-facilitated PCI (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.351, p = 0.01) as well as 90-day composite outcome (HR: 0.45, p = 0.009). A trend for improved survival was also observed in patients with TIMI score ≥3 and spoke site alone (HR: 0.549, p = 0.06).ConclusionsFacilitation of PCI with a combination of abciximab and half-dose reteplase improved survival at 1 year in high-risk patients presenting to a spoke hospital with symptom-to-randomization time ≤4 h. Further prospective study of facilitated PCI in this subgroup of patients is warranted.