BackgroundMultivessel disease is common in acute coronary syndrome patients. However, if multivessel percutaneous coronary intervention is superior to culprit-vessel angioplasty has not been systematically addressed.MethodsA metaanalysis was conducted including studies that compared multivessel angioplasty with culprit-vessel angioplasty among non-ST elevation ACS patients. Since all studies were observational adjusted estimates of effects were used. Pooled estimates of effects were computed using the generic inverse of variance with a random effects model.ResultsTwelve studies were included (n = 117,685). Median age was 64.1 years, most patients were male, 29.3% were diabetic and 36,9% had previous myocardial infarction. Median follow-up was 12 months. There were no significant differences in mortality risk (HR 0.79; 95% CI 0.58 to 1.09; I2 67.9%), with moderate inconsistency. Also, there were no significant differences in the risk of death or MI (HR 0.90; 95% CI 0.69 to 1.17; I2 62.3%), revascularization (HR 0.76; 95% CI 0.55 to 1.05; I2 49.9%) or in the combined incidence of death, myocardial infarction or revascularization (HR 0.83; 95% CI 0.66 to 1.03; I2 70.8%). All analyses exhibited a moderate degree of inconsistency. Subgroup analyses by design reduced the inconsistency of the analyses on death or myocardial infarction, revascularization and death, myocardial infarction or revascularization. There was evidence of publication bias (Egger’s test p = 0.097).ConclusionRoutine multivessel angioplasty in non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome patients with multivessel disease was not superior to culprit-vessel angioplasty. Randomized controlled trials comparing safety and effectiveness of both strategies in this setting are needed.
Background: Adherence to treatment after a myocardial infarction (MI) is poor, even in the early postinfarction period. Combining evidence-based drugs into a multicap could improve adherence in this population. No previous randomized trial assessing fixed-dose combination therapy has included patients early after a MI. We aimed to assess if a multicap containing four secondary prevention drugs increases adherence to treatment at 6 months after MI hospitalization. The study was designed as a randomized, parallel, open-label, controlled trial. Methods: Patients were randomized within 7 days of a MI to either multicap or control group. The multicap group received a capsule containing aspirin, atenolol, ramipril, and simvastatin. The control group received each drug in separate pills. The primary outcome was adherence at 6 months. We also measured blood pressure, heart rate, serum cholesterol levels, C-reactive protein, and platelet aggregation. Results: The study was stopped prematurely when 100 patients were included for futility. At 6 months, 92 (95.8%) patients were adherent to medical treatment: 98.0% in the multicap group and 93.5% in the control group [relative risk (RR) 1.05; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.96–1.14; p = 0.347]. There were no differences between groups in systolic blood pressure ( p = 0.662), diastolic blood pressure ( p = 0.784), heart rate ( p = 0.533), total cholesterol ( p = 0.760), LDL-c ( p = 0.979), C-reactive protein ( p = 0.399), or in the proportion of patients with adequate platelet aggregation inhibition ( p = 0.600). Conclusions: The study did not find any improvement in the adherence at 6 months after a MI with a multicap-based strategy (Multicap for Increase Adherence After Acute Myocardial Infarction; [ ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02271178]).
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