Early abciximab administration before primary percutaneous coronary intervention improves clinical outcome in diabetic patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (EUROTRANSFER Registry).

BACKGROUND: Diabetes is an important determinant of prognosis in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Limited data are available concerning benefits and risks of upstream abciximab administration in diabetic patients. Thus, the objective of the study was to assess the impact of early abciximab administration before primary angioplasty (PCI) for STEMI in diabetic patients.

METHODS: Data were gathered for 1650 consecutive STEMI patients transferred for primary PCI from hospital networks in seven countries in Europe from November 2005 to January 2007 (the EUROTRANSFER Registry population). Patients were stratified by diabetes mellitus presence and then by abciximab administration strategy (early - more than 30 min before PCI vs. late).

RESULTS: Diabetes mellitus was diagnosed in 262 (15.9%) patients. Patients with diabetes mellitus were high-risk individuals, with advanced age, higher prevalence of comorbidities and increased risk of ischemic events during follow-up in comparison to non-diabetic patients. A total of 1086 patients who received abciximab were identified. Strategy of early abciximab administration was associated with enhanced infarct-related artery patency before PCI, and improved epicardial flow after PCI in both diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Importantly, early abciximab in diabetic patients led to the decrease in ischemic events, including 30-day (OR 0.260, 95% CI 0.089-0.759, p = 0.012) and 1-year (OR 0.273, 95% CI 0.099-0.749, p = 0.012) mortality reduction. However, only a trend toward improved survival was confirmed after adjustment for potential confounders. On the contrary, the reduction of 30-day (OR 0.620, 95% CI 0.334-1.189, p = 0.16) and 1-year (OR 0.643, 95% CI 0.379-1.089, p = 0.10) mortality rates was not significant among non-diabetic patients.

CONCLUSIONS: Early administration of abciximab improves infarct-related artery patency before and after primary PCI, and leads to improved survival in diabetic STEMI patients.