Her AY, et al. Yonsei Med J. 2022 May;63(5):413-421. https://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2022.63.5.413

Background: Although antiplatelet therapy (APT) has been recommended to balance ischemic‐bleeding risks, it has been left to an individualized decision‐making based on physicians' perspectives before non‐cardiac surgery. The study aimed to assess the advantages of a consensus among physicians, surgeons, and anesthesiologists on continuation and regimen of preoperative APT in patients with coronary drug‐eluting stents. Methods and Results: A total of 3582 adult patients undergoing non‐cardiac surgery after percutaneous coronary intervention with second‐generation stents was retrospectively included from a multicenter cohort. Physicians determined whether APT should be continued or discontinued for a recommended period before non‐cardiac surgery. There were 3103 patients who complied with a consensus decision. Arbitrary APT, not based on a consensus decision, was associated with urgent surgery, high bleeding risk of surgery, female sex, and dual APT at the time of preoperative evaluation. Arbitrary APT independently increased the net clinical adverse event (adjusted odds ratio [OR _adj ], 1.98; 95% CI, 1.98–3.11), major adverse cardiac event (OR _adj , 3.11; 95% CI, 1.31–7.34), and major bleeding (OR _adj , 2.34; 95% CI, 1.45–3.76) risks. The association was consistently noted, irrespective of the surgical risks, recommendations, and practice on discontinuation of APT. Conclusions: Most patients were treated in agreement with a consensus decision about preoperative APT based on a referral system among physicians, surgeons, and anesthesiologists. The risk of perioperative adverse events increased if complying with a consensus decision was failed. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT03908463.

Choi JH, et al. Yonsei Med J. 2017 Sep;58(5):959-967. https://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2017.58.5.959

Her AY, et al. Yonsei Med J. 2023 Jun;64(6):359-365. https://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2022.0633

Background: This study was conducted to address the lack of reports comparing the clinical outcomes of non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and STEMI based on left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Methods: A total of 9854 patients from the Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry-National Institute of Health dataset were classified into three LVEF categories: heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (EF) (HFrEF, n = 1250), HF with mildly reduced EF (HFmrEF, n = 2383), and HF with preserved EF (HFpEF, n = 6221). Each group was further divided into NSTEMI and STEMI groups. The primary clinical outcome was the incidence of patient-oriented composite outcomes, defined as all-cause death, recurrent myocardial infarction, any repeat coronary revascularization, hospitalization for HF, and stroke. Results: Following adjustment, in-hospital mortality rates were comparable between the NSTEMI and STEMI groups in the HFrEF and HFmrEF groups. However, 3-year mortality rates were higher in the NSTEMI group. In contrast, in the HFpEF group, the STEMI group had higher rates of in-hospital all-cause death (p = 0.001) and cardiac death (p < 0.001) compared to the NSTEMI group, which was associated with increased 3-year all-cause death (p = 0.026) and cardiac death (p < 0.001) in the STEMI group. When in-hospital mortality was excluded, no difference in 3-year mortality rates was observed between the NSTEMI and STEMI groups in the HFpEF group. Conclusions: In-hospital mortality and 3-year outcomes varied across LVEF groups. Therefore, comparing NSTEMI and STEMI based on LVEF provides valuable insights into the differences in patient outcomes.

Background: Carriers of CYP2C19 loss‐of‐function alleles have increased adverse events after percutaneous coronary intervention, but limited data are available for older patients. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic impact of CYP2C19 genotypes on clinical outcomes in older patients after percutaneous coronary intervention. Methods and Results: The study included 1201 older patients (aged ≥75 years) who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention and received clopidogrel‐based dual antiplatelet therapy in South Korea. Patients were grouped on the basis of CYP2C19 genotypes. The primary outcome was 3‐year major adverse cardiac events, defined as a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, and stent thrombosis. Older patients were grouped into 3 groups: normal metabolizer (36.6%), intermediate metabolizer (48.1%), and poor metabolizer (15.2%). The occurrence of the primary outcome was significantly different among the groups (3.1, 7.0, and 6.2% in the normal metabolizer, intermediate metabolizer, and poor metabolizer groups, respectively; P =0.02). The incidence rate of all‐cause death at 3 years was greater in the intermediate metabolizer and poor metabolizer groups (8.1% and 9.2%, respectively) compared with that in the normal metabolizer group (3.5%, P =0.03) without significant differences in major bleeding. In the multivariable analysis, the intermediate metabolizer and poor metabolizer groups were independent predictors of 3‐year clinical outcomes. Conclusions: In older patients, the presence of any CYP2C19 loss‐of‐function allele was found to be predictive of a higher incidence of major adverse cardiac events within 3 years following percutaneous coronary intervention. This finding suggests a need for further investigation into an optimal antiplatelet strategy for older patients. Registration: URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov . Identifier: NCT04734028.