| Methods: Between March 2007 and December 2009,
patients with anterior acute myocardial infarction
(AMI) treated with streptokinase less than 6 hours
from presentation who underwent early PCI were
enrolled in this multicenter randomized clinical
trial. The study was carried out in the Cardiology
Departments of Valiasr Hospital of Zanjan, Imam
Reza, and Shahid Madani Heart Hospitals, Tabriz, Iran.
Results: Four hundred and three patients were enrolled
in this study. Patients were randomly divided into 2
groups: Group I (n=202) with stepwise stent deployment
(SSD), and Group II (n=201) with routine conventional
stent deployment (CSD). The patients’ mean age was
57.7 ± 10.7 years. After PCI, thrombolysis in myocardial
infarction myocardial perfusion grade (TMPG) 0/1,
suggestive of no-reflow was significantly higher in CSD
group (p=0.0001). In hospital based, death occurred in 15
patients (7.5%) from CSD group while 4 (2%) from the
SSD group (p=0.01). The TMPG was also significantly
higher in SSD group (average 2.32 ± 0.18) compared
with CSD group, (average 1.66 ± 0.24) (p=0.0001).
Conventional stenting technique was an independent
predictor of no-reflow in multivariate logistic regression
analysis (hazard ratio - 1.43; 95% confidence interval:
1.15-1.73; p=0.01).
Conclusion: The SSD was associated with improved
angiographic reperfusion indices and reduced mortality
in early PCI for AMI. |