Colchicine in Patients with Chronic Coronary Disease.

BACKGROUND: Evidence from a recent trial has shown that the antiinflammatory effects of colchicine reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with recent myocardial infarction, but evidence of such a risk reduction in patients with chronic coronary disease is limited. METHODS: In a randomized, controlled, double-blind trial, we assigned patients with chronic coronary disease to receive 0.5 mg of colchicine once daily or matching placebo. The primary end point was a composite of cardiovascular death, spontaneous (nonprocedural) myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, or ischemia-driven coronary revascularization. The key secondary end point was a composite of cardiovascular death, spontaneous myocardial infarction, or ischemic stroke. RESULTS: A total of 5522 patients underwent randomization; 2762 were assigned to the colchicine group and 2760 to the placebo group. The median duration of follow-up was 28.6 months. A primary end-point event occurred in 187 patients (6.8%) in the colchicine group and in 264 patients (9.6%) in the placebo group (incidence, 2.5 vs. 3.6 events per 100 person-years; hazard ratio, 0.69; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.57 to 0.83; P<0.001). A key secondary end-point event occurred in 115 patients (4.2%) in the colchicine group and in 157 patients (5.7%) in the placebo group (incidence, 1.5 vs. 2.1 events per 100 person-years; hazard ratio, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.57 to 0.92; P = 0.007). The incidence rates of spontaneous myocardial infarction or ischemia-driven coronary revascularization (composite end point), cardiovascular death or spontaneous myocardial infarction (composite end point), ischemia-driven coronary revascularization, and spontaneous myocardial infarction were also significantly lower with colchicine than with placebo. The incidence of death from noncardiovascular causes was higher in the colchicine group than in the placebo group (incidence, 0.7 vs. 0.5 events per 100 person-years; hazard ratio, 1.51; 95% CI, 0.99 to 2.31). CONCLUSIONS: In a randomized trial involving patients with chronic coronary disease, the risk of cardiovascular events was significantly lower among those who received 0.5 mg of colchicine once daily than among those who received placebo. (Funded by the National Health Medical Research Council of Australia and others; LoDoCo2 Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry number, ACTRN12614000093684.).

Effect of Using the HEART Score in Patients With Chest Pain in the Emergency Department: A Stepped-Wedge, Cluster Randomized Trial.

BACKGROUND: The HEART (History, Electrocardiogram, Age, Risk factors, and initial Troponin) score is an easy-to-apply instrument to stratify patients with chest pain according to their short-term risk for major adverse cardiac events (MACEs), but its effect on daily practice is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To measure the effect of use of the HEART score on patient outcomes and use of health care resources. DESIGN: Stepped-wedge, cluster randomized trial. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01756846). SETTING: Emergency departments in 9 Dutch hospitals. PATIENTS: Unselected patients with chest pain presenting at emergency departments in 2013 and 2014. INTERVENTION: All hospitals started with usual care. Every 6 weeks, 1 hospital was randomly assigned to switch to "HEART care," during which physicians calculated the HEART score to guide patient management. MEASUREMENTS: For safety, a noninferiority margin of a 3.0% absolute increase in MACEs within 6 weeks was set. Other outcomes included use of health care resources, quality of life, and cost-effectiveness. RESULTS: A total of 3648 patients were included (1827 receiving usual care and 1821 receiving HEART care). Six-week incidence of MACEs during HEART care was 1.3% lower than during usual care (upper limit of the 1-sided 95% CI, 2.1% [within the noninferiority margin of 3.0%]). In low-risk patients, incidence of MACEs was 2.0% (95% CI, 1.2% to 3.3%). No statistically significant differences in early discharge, readmissions, recurrent emergency department visits, outpatient visits, or visits to general practitioners were observed. LIMITATION: Physicians were hesitant to refrain from admission and diagnostic tests in patients classified as low risk by the HEART score. CONCLUSION: Using the HEART score during initial assessment of patients with chest pain is safe, but the effect on health care resources is limited, possibly due to nonadherence to management recommendations. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development.

The effect of cholesteryl ester transfer protein inhibition on lipids, lipoproteins, and markers of HDL function after an acute coronary syndrome: the dal-ACUTE randomized trial.

AIMS: The effects of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibition on lipids, inflammation, and markers of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) function, following an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), are unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: The dal-ACUTE study randomized 300 patients (1 : 1) to dalcetrapib 600 mg/day or placebo within 1 week of an ACS. The primary endpoint was per cent change in HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) after 4 weeks. Secondary endpoints included apolipoprotein levels, markers of HDL function, and inflammation. Dalcetrapib treatment increased HDL-C and apolipoprotein A1 by 33.7 and 11.8%, respectively (both P < 0.001) and total cholesterol efflux by 9.5% (P = 0.003) after 4 weeks, principally via an increase in non-ATP-binding cassette transporter (ABC) A1-mediated efflux, without statistically significant changes in pre-ß1-HDL levels. The increase in total efflux with dalcetrapib correlated most strongly with increases in apolipoprotein A1 and HDL-C (r = 0.46 and 0.43, respectively) rather than the increase in pre-ß1-HDL (r = 0.32). Baseline and on-treatment ABCA1-mediated efflux correlated most strongly with pre-ß1-HDL levels; in contrast, non-ABCA1-mediated efflux correlated better with apolipoprotein A1 and HDL-C levels. CONCLUSIONS: High-density lipoprotein raised through CETP inhibition with dalcetrapib improves cholesterol efflux, principally via a non-ABCA1-mediated pathway. While HDL-C was increased by one-third, apolipoprotein A1 and total efflux were increased only by one-tenth, supporting the concept of dissociation between improvements in HDL function and HDL-C levels, which may be of relevance to ongoing trials and the development of therapeutic interventions targeting HDL.