In patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction with cardiogenic shock treated with percutaneous coronary intervention, admission glucose level is a strong independent predictor for 1-year mortality in patients without a prior diagnosis of diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) reduces mortality in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) complicated by cardiogenic shock (CS). Despite PCI, mortality in CS is still approximately 50%. Admission glucose concentration is an independent predictor of mortality in patients with STEMI and is associated with the occurrence of CS. Whether admission glucose is also a predictor of mortality in CS patients treated with primary PCI is unexplored. We therefore assessed the relation between admission glucose concentration and 1-year mortality in patients with STEMI with CS without a prior diagnosis of diabetes on admission and treated with PCI.

METHODS: We investigated a cohort of 208 consecutive patients with STEMI without a prior diagnosis of diabetes with CS on admission. Patients were classified according to glucose levels at admission: <7.8 mmol/L (group 1, n = 57), 7.8 to 11 mmol/L (group 2, n = 71), and >11.0 mmol/L (group 3, n = 80).

RESULTS: The overall 1-year mortality was 38%. One-year mortality was 21%, 27%, and 60% in groups I, II, and III, respectively (P < .001). In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, the odds for mortality increased by 16% for every 1 mmol/L increase in plasma glucose concentration (OR 1.155, 95% CI 1.070-1.247), after adjustment for left ventricular ejection fraction <40%, age older than 75 years, male sex, and thrombolysis in myocardial infarction 3 flow after PCI.

CONCLUSIONS: In patients with STEMI with CS and without a prior diagnosis of diabetes undergoing primary PCI, admission glucose concentration is a very strong independent predictor for 1-year mortality. Further studies are warranted to determine whether concomitant glycometabolic regulation in patients with STEMI treated with PCI, particularly those with CS, will improve clinical outcome.