Antithrombotic Treatment Prior to Intracerebral Hemorrhage: Analysis in the National Acute Stroke Israeli Registry.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is the most disastrous stroke subtype. Prognosis is considered worse with prior antithrombotic treatment. Our aim was to evaluate the association of prior antithrombotic treatment on the radiological and clinical outcome after ICH in a subgroup of patients included in a national registry. METHODS: Based on the National Acute Stroke Israeli (NASIS) registry during 2004, 2007, 2010, and 2013 (2-month periods), characteristics, volumetric parameters, and prognosis of a subgroup of patients with ICH were analyzed. RESULTS: Among the 634 patients with ICH in the NASIS registry, 310 (49%) were not treated previously with antithrombotic medications, 232 (37%) were treated with an antiplatelet agent, and 92 (14.5%) patients were on oral anticoagulant therapy, of them 30 patients (33%) with an international normalised ratio (INR) value below 2, 33 (36%) patients with an INR value of 2-3, and 29 patients (31%) with an INR value above 3 upon admission. Patients with deep hemorrhage on prior anticoagulants treatment had the highest probability for poor outcome at hospital discharge. Patients with low bleeding volume (0-30 cm3), were likely to have admission National Institute of Health Stroke Scale < 10 (62%), while those with higher volumes (30-59 cm3 and > 60 cm3), had only 16.7% and 14.3% chance, respectively. We did not observe a significant difference between prior antithrombotic treatment and functional outcome at discharge, yet prior anticoagulant treatment was associated with higher long-term mortality rates. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings, based on a national registry, support the high mortality and poor outcome of anticoagulant related ICH.

Morbidity and mortality with cardiac resynchronization therapy with pacing vs. with defibrillation in octogenarian patients in a real-world setting.

AIMS: Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) with a defibrillator (CRT-D) has downsides of high cost and inappropriate shocks compared to CRT without a defibrillator (CRT-P). Recent data suggest that the survival benefit of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy is attenuated in the older age group. We hypothesized that, among octogenarians eligible for cardiac resynchronization therapy, CRT-P confers similar morbidity and mortality benefits as CRT-D. METHODS AND RESULTS: We compared morbidity and mortality outcomes between consecutive octogenarian patients eligible for CRT therapy who underwent CRT-P implantation at Barzilai MC (n = 142) vs. those implanted with CRT-D for primary prevention indication who were prospectively enrolled in the Israeli ICD Registry (n = 104). Among the 246 study patients, mean age was 84 ± 3 years, 74% were males, and 66% had ischaemic cardiomyopathy. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that at 5 years of follow-up the rate of all-cause mortality was 43% in CRT-P vs. 57% in the CRT-D group [log-rank P = 0.13; adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 0.79, 95% CI 0.46-1.35, P = 0.37]. Kaplan-Meier analysis also showed no significant difference in the rates of the combined endpoint of heart failure or death (46 vs. 60%, respectively, log-rank P = 0.36; adjusted HR was 0.85, 95% CI 0.51-1.44, P = 0.55). A Cox proportional hazard with competing risk model showed that re-hospitalizations for cardiac cause were not different for the two groups (adjusted HR 1.35, 95% CI 0.7-2.6, P = 0.37). CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that, in octogenarians with systolic heart failure, CRT-P therapy is associated with similar morbidity and mortality outcomes as CRT-D therapy.

The impact of short hospital stay on prognosis after acute myocardial infarction: An analysis from the ACSIS database.

BACKGROUND: Current evidence regarding the optimal length of hospital stay (LOS) following myocardial infarction (MI) is limited. This study aimed to examine LOS policy for MI patients and to assess the safety of early discharge. METHODS: A prospective observational study that included patients with STEMI and NSTEMI enrolled in the Acute Coronary Syndrome Israeli Survey (ACSIS) during the years 2000-2016. Patients were divided into three subgroups according to their LOS: <3 days (short-LOS), 3-6 days (intermediate-LOS) and >6 days (long-LOS). We compared baseline characteristics, management strategies and clinical outcomes at 30 days and 1 year in these groups. RESULTS: Ten thousand four hundred and fifty eight patients were enrolled in the study. The LOS of MI patients gradually decreased over time. Short-LOS and intermediate-LOS patients had similar clinical characteristics while patients in the long-LOS group were older with more co-morbidity. There was no difference in the clinical outcomes, including re-MI, arrhythmias, 30 days MACE, and 30 days mortality between the short-LOS and intermediate-LOS groups. However, the rate of re-hospitalizations was higher in the short-LOS group (20.9% vs. 17.8%, p = .004) without evidence of increased cardiovascular events. In multivariate analysis, the LOS did not predict either 30 days mortality (HR: 1.3; CI:0.45-5.48), nor MACE at 30 days (HR: 1.1; CI:0.79-1.56). CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that an early discharge strategy of up to 3 days from admission is safe for low and intermediate-risk patients after both STEMI and NSTEMI. Nevertheless, this strategy is associated with an increased risk of potential avoidable readmission and there might be psychological and social factors that may warrant a longer stay.

Real-life characteristics and outcomes of patients who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention versus coronary artery bypass grafting for left main coronary artery disease: data from the prospective Multi-vessel Coronary Artery Disease (MULTICAD) Israeli Registry.

OBJECTIVES: Left main coronary artery involvement in patients with multivessel coronary artery disease provides a poor prognosis. Although the main strategy for revascularization is by coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is being used with increased frequency. METHODS: This prospective, 3-year follow-up study included 1063 consecutive patients with multivessel coronary artery disease enrolled between January and April 2013 from all 22 hospitals in Israel that perform coronary angiography and PCI. RESULTS: Of the 1063 patients, 252 (24%) had left main coronary artery disease. Of them, 27% were treated by PCI and 73% by CABG. Factors associated with referral for PCI included older age [odds ratio (OR) 1.04; P = 0.021], renal impairment (OR 3.52; P = 0.006), prior PCI (OR 2.23; P = 0.041) and lower SYNTAX score (OR 1.05; P = 0.004). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that after 3 years, all-cause mortality among left main coronary artery disease patients was significantly higher among those who underwent PCI versus CABG (26.9% vs 8.7%; P < 0.001). Multivariable analysis showed that PCI was associated with a >2-fold increased hazard for mortality compared with surgical revascularization (hazard ratio 2.13, 95% confidence interval 1.05-4.31; P = 0.036). CONCLUSIONS: In real-life practice, clinical factors and a lower SYNTAX score affect the decision to perform PCI in left main coronary artery disease patients. Our findings suggest that CABG is associated with improved long-term survival compared to PCI in patients with left main coronary artery disease after adjustment for those factors.

Outcomes of Patients Presenting With Clinical Indices of Spontaneous Reperfusion in ST-Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome Undergoing Deferred Angiography.

BACKGROUND: Few data are available regarding the optimal management of ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients with clinically defined spontaneous reperfusion (SR). We report on the characteristics and outcomes of patients with SR in the primary percutaneous coronary intervention era, and assess whether immediate reperfusion can be deferred. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data were drawn from a prospective nationwide survey, ACSIS (Acute Coronary Syndrome Israeli Survey). Definition of SR was predefined as both (1) ≥70% reduction in ST-segment elevation on consecutive ECGs and (2) ≥70% resolution of pain. Of 2361 consecutive ST-elevation-acute coronary syndrome patients in Killip class 1, 405 (17%) were not treated with primary reperfusion therapy because of SR. Intervention in SR patients was performed a median of 26 hours after admission. These patients were compared with the 1956 ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients who underwent primary reperfusion with a median door-to-balloon of 66 minutes (interquartile range 38-106). Baseline characteristics were similar except for slightly higher incidence of renal dysfunction and prior angina pectoris in SR patients. Time from symptom onset to medical contact was significantly greater in SR patients. Patients with SR had significantly less in-hospital heart failure (4% versus 11%) and cardiogenic shock (0% versus 2%) (P<0.01 for all). No significant differences were found in in-hospital mortality (1% versus 2%), 30-day major cardiac events (4% versus 4%), and mortality at 30 days (1% versus 2%) and 1 year (4% versus 4%). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with clinically defined SR have a favorable prognosis. Deferring immediate intervention seems to be safe in patients with clinical indices of spontaneous reperfusion.