Predictive value of elevated neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio in patients undergoing primary angioplasty for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVES: The neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been investigated as a new predictor for cardiovascular risk. Admission NLR would be predictive of adverse outcomes after primary angioplasty for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). METHODS: A total of 2410 patients with STEMI undergoing primary angioplasty were retrospectively enrolled. The study population was divided into tertiles based on the NLR values. A high NLR (n = 803) was defined as a value in the third tertile (>6.97), and a low NLR (n = 1607) was defined as a value in the lower 2 tertiles (≤6.97). RESULTS: High NLR group had higher incidence of inhospital and long-term cardiovascular mortality (5% vs 1.4%, P < .001; 7% vs 4.8%, P = .02, respectively). High NLR (>6.97) was found as an independent predictor of inhospital cardiovascular mortality (odds ratio: 2.8, 95% confidence interval: 1.37-5.74, P = .005). CONCLUSIONS: High NLR level is associated with increased inhospital and long-term cardiovascular mortality in patients with STEMI undergoing primary angioplasty.

Prognostic impact of red blood cell transfusion in patients undergoing primary angioplasty for ST elevation myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to examine in-hospital and long-term outcomes of red blood cell (RBC) transfusions in patients undergoing a primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). METHODS: Overall, 2537 consecutive STEMI patients (mean age 56.2 ± 11.7 years, 2111 men, 426 women) undergoing primary angioplasty were enrolled retrospectively into the present study. Patients were categorized according to whether they received RBC transfusions during hospitalization. Clinical characteristics, and in-hospital and long-term outcomes of the primary PCI were analyzed. RESULTS: Of the consecutive 2537 patients, 88 (3.4%) received RBC transfusions during the index hospitalization. The transfused patients were older than nontransfused patients (mean age 63.6 ± 12.1 vs. 56.2 ± 11.8, P<0.001). Compared with nontransfused patients, female sex and hypertension were more prevalent in transfused patients (45.4 vs. 15.8%, P<0.001; 52.3 vs. 40.7%, P=0.04, respectively). Baseline values of hematocrit and hemoglobin were lower in patients receiving transfusion (33 ± 6.2 vs. 40.2 ± 4.7%, P<0.001; 11.1 ± 2.3 vs. 13.7 ± 1.6 mg/dl, P<0.001, respectively). The transfused patients had significantly higher in-hospital and long-term mortality (for in-hospital mortality: 10.2 vs. 2.7%, P<0.001; for long-term mortality: 14.1 vs. 5.1%, P=0.001). By multivariate Cox regression analysis, in all 2537 patients, RBC transfusion was found to be a powerful independent predictor of in-hospital cardiovascular mortality (odds ratio 8.31, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: These results show that RBC transfusion is associated with increased in-hospital and long-term mortality in patients with STEMI undergoing a primary PCI.