Emergent versus elective percutaneous stent implantation in the unprotected left main: Long-term outcomes from a single-center registry

Background: Unprotected left main (ULM) coronary disease is considered by contemporary guidelines a class I indication for surgery. However, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is often carried out in the ULM in either emergent or high-risk elective procedures. The aim of this study was to evaluate ULM-PCI as a feasible and safe procedure in the emergent setting, and to analyze outcomes in both scenarios. Methods: Angiographic and clinical data were collected retrospectively for all patients who underwent emergent or elective PCI on ULM at our center from January 2006 to June 2009. All patients were followed up with a clinical visit or telephone interview. Main outcomes included major adverse cardiac events (MACE) and its individual components: cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI) and target lesion revascularization. These were analyzed at the longest follow-up available. Results: A total of 98 consecutive patients with significant LM disease were included. Fifty-seven of them were treated as a planned procedure (elective group) and 41 as an emergent procedure (emergent group). Procedural success was achieved in 100% of cases in the elective group and in 88% of the emergent group (p ≤ 0.011). Higher use of drug-eluting stents (DES) was recorded in the elective group (75% versus 45% in the emergent group; p <0.002). The emergent group presented a higher in-hospital mortality (24% versus 2% in the elective group; p <0.001). At a mean follow-up of 626 ± 380 days, the overall MACE rate was similar betweeen the two groups (23% in the emergent group versus 17% in the elective group; p ≤ 0.52). Independent predictors of MACE after discharge follow-up were postprocedure minimal diameter and DES use. Conclusions: Emergent PCI of the ULM exhibits worse in-hospital outcomes as compared to elective procedures. However, after discharge, long-term outcomes remain comparably good between groups.

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