Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical effects of different strategies for preventing coronary microvascular obstruction in ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients with a high thrombus-burden plaque.
Methods: Between January, 2007 and December, 2012, 354 patients suffering from STEMI with high thrombus-burden were enrolled and divided into three groups as the first group received a GP IIb/IIIa inhibitor, and the second group received a distal protective device, and the third group was treated with primary PCI alone.
Results: A high percentage of patients in the GP IIb/IIIa inhibitor (96.8% and 90.5%), distal protective device (99.3% and 87.6%) had better thirty-day and one-year symptom-free outcomes when compared with PCI only group (91.6% and 65.6%) (P = 0.008 and P < 0.001; respectively).
Conclusions: Treatment with intracoronary GP IIb/IIIa inhibitor injection or distal protection device to prevent coronary microvascular obstruction was demonstrated to increase the occurrences of thirty-day and one-year symptom-free outcomes; thus, these treatments can help decrease post-MI medical care costs.
Keywords: Distal protection device; GP IIb/IIIa receptor inhibitor; High thrombus-burden plaque; Primary percutaneous coronary intervention; ST elevation myocardial infarction; Symptom-free outcomes.
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