Impact of thrombus aspiration during primary percutaneous coronary intervention on mortality in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction

To assess the impact of thrombus aspiration during primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) on the mortality of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients.

Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data on 2567 consecutive PPCI-treated STEMI patients between 2008 and 2011. Cox proportional hazard models and multiple logistic regression analysis were used to adjust for known covariates. Thrombectomy was performed in 1095 patients (42.7%). Post-PPCI thrombolysis in myocardial infarction 3 flow was more frequently achieved in the thrombectomy group [adjusted odds ratio (OR); 1.92, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.34–2.76, P = 0.0004]. Overall in-hospital and longer term (mean follow-up 9.9 months) mortality rates were 4.5 and 9.0%, respectively. Thrombectomy was associated with a significant reduction in in-hospital (adjusted OR: 0.51, 95% CI: 0.29–0.93, P = 0.027) and longer term mortality [adjusted hazard ratio (HR): 0.69, 95% CI: 0.48–0.96, P = 0.028]. With propensity weighting, the adjusted HR for longer term mortality for thrombectomy was 0.43 (95% CI: 0.19–0.97; P = 0.042). The association between thrombectomy and reduced longer term mortality was only significant in those with a total ischaemic time ≤180min (P = 0.001) but not in patients with a total ischaemic time >180min (P = 0.99).

This study of real-world, unselected STEMI patients demonstrates that thrombus aspiration during PPCI is associated with a significant reduction in mortality, especially in those with a short total ischaemic time. These findings support the use of thrombectomy during PPCI in this group of patients.