BACKGROUND/AIMS: Family history (FHx) of coronary heart disease (CHD) is a well-known risk factor for CHD. However, the prognostic implication of FHx has not been established clearly in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). METHODS: In total, 11,612 patients (8,132 males [70%], age 63 +/- 13 years) with first-onset AMI between November 2005 and June 2008 in a nationwide, prospective, multicenter, online registry (the Korea AMI Registry) were analyzed. Clinical characteristics and outcomes (cardiac death and major adverse cardiac events [MACEs]) were assessed according to the presence of FHx. RESULTS: The patients with FHx were younger and included more males. Male patients with FHx included more current smokers and individuals with poor lipid profiles. In all patients, after adjustment using the Cox proportional hazard model, FHx was related to the risk of MACEs (hazard ratio [HR], 1.41; p = 0.009) and cardiac death (HR, 1.56; p = 0.080). The poor prognostic implication of FHx was further augmented in females and a low risk subset of patients. A significant interaction was only found between male and female patients for composite MACEs (p for interaction = 0.057), and between patients with more risk factors (> or = 2 risk factors) and fewer risk factors for cardiac deaths (p for interaction = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: FHx may be an independent prognostic predictor, especially in female patients and patients with low-risk profile.
Adult ; Aged ; Chi-Square Distribution ; Coronary Artery Bypass ; Coronary Disease/*genetics/mortality/therapy ; Female ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Heredity ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Myocardial Infarction/*genetics/mortality/therapy ; Pedigree ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Prognosis ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Registries ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Sex Factors ; Time Factors

PURPOSE: This study aimed to compare the effects of ticagrelor and clopidogrel on early neointimal healing assessed with optical coherence tomography (OCT) after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: AMI patients were randomly assigned to either the ticagrelor or clopidogrel arm. After DES implantation, OCT was performed to assess the percentages of uncovered struts immediately after procedure and 3 months later. RESULTS: Due to early termination, 83 patients out of 106 initially enrolled patients (24% of planned participants) underwent 3-month OCT. Differences in vascular healing patterns between the two groups, including percentage of uncovered struts on 3-month OCT (9.6% vs. 11.7% in ticagrelor vs. clopidogrel, respectively; p=0.867), neointimal thickness, percentage of malapposed struts, and healing scores did not reach statistical significance. The predictors of uncovered strut on 3-month OCT included greater reference vessel diameter [odds ratio (OR)=1.96, p < 0.001] and more malapposed struts (OR=1.12, p=0.003). CONCLUSION: The current study did not explore favorable effect of ticagrelor on 3-month vascular healing after DES implantation. Our findings should only be considered for generating hypothesis, due to insufficient power.
Arm ; Drug-Eluting Stents ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Neointima ; Tomography, Optical Coherence*

PURPOSE: The present study investigated the diagnostic accuracy and clinical implications of moderate stenosis (50–69%, Coronary Artery Disease Reporting and Data System, grade 3) on coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA), compared with invasive coronary angiography (ICA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two hundred and seventy-six patients who underwent ICA due to moderate stenosis alone on CCTA were selected from our prospective registry cohort. RESULTS: Diagnostic concordance between CCTA and ICA was found in only 50 (18%) patients. Among the 396 vessels and 508 segments with moderate stenosis, diagnostic concordance was found in 132 vessels (33%) and 127 segments (25%). Segments with calcified plaque had lower diagnostic concordance than those with mixed or non-calcified plaque (22% vs. 28% vs. 27%, respectively, p=0.001). While calcified plaque burden did not have an influence on severe stenosis (≥70%) on ICA, higher burden of non-calcified plaque was correlated with a greater incidence of ICA-based severe stenosis, which was more frequent in patients with ≥3 segments of non-calcified plaque (75%) than those without non-calcified plaque (22%, p < 0.001). Typical angina and mixed or non-calcified plaque were correlated with a higher incidence of under-diagnosis, while the use of next-generation computed tomography scanners reduced the incidence of under-diagnosis. Increased body weight, left circumflex artery involvement, and calcified plaque were independent factors that increased the risk of over-diagnosis of CCTA. CONCLUSION: The diagnosis of moderate stenosis by CCTA may be limited in estimating the exact degree of ICA-based anatomical stenosis. Unlike calcific burden, non-calcific burden was positively correlated with the presence of severe stenosis on ICA.
Angina, Stable* ; Angiography* ; Arteries ; Body Weight ; Cohort Studies ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Stenosis* ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Incidence ; Information Systems ; Prospective Studies

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Despite the favorable efficacy of new antiplatelet agents demonstrated in randomized controlled trials, their clinical implications in Korea are unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate trends in antiplatelet agent use for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and their impact on 30-day clinical outcomes. METHODS: AMI patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention between 2010 and 2015 were assessed using claim data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. RESULTS: The use of new antiplatelet agents has rapidly increased since 2013 and has been preferred over clopidogrel (Plavix; Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceuticals) since 2015. Both prasugrel (Effient; Eli Lilly and Company) (odds ratio [OR], 0.45; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.31–0.67; p < 0.001) and ticagrelor (Brilinta; AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP) (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.71–0.98; p=0.032) had an independent effect on lowering 30-day mortality in a weighted multivariable logistic regression model. However, new antiplatelet agents had no significant effect on other clinical outcomes including myocardial infarction, stroke, bleeding, and readmission within 30 days. CONCLUSION: The use of new antiplatelet agents is rapidly increasing, and they have been used more commonly than clopidogrel since 2015. We demonstrated that new antiplatelet agents have a favorable effect on reducing 30-day mortality in AMI patients in Korea.
Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Insurance, Health* ; Korea* ; Logistic Models ; Mortality ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors* ; Prasugrel Hydrochloride* ; Stroke

PURPOSE: The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of polymer-free drug-coated BioFreedom stent implantation in comparison to coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) before major noncardiac surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a multicenter registry, 55 patients required revascularization before major noncardiac surgery that should not be delayed >6 months. Of them, 27 underwent BioFreedom stent implantation and 28 underwent CABG. Primary outcomes included rate of noncardiac surgery, time from revascularization to noncardiac surgery, and occurrence of composite outcomes (all-cause death, myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis, stroke, repeat revascularization, or major bleeding). RESULTS: The rate of major noncardiac surgery was significantly higher in the BioFreedom group (92.6%) than in the CABG group (64.3%; p=0.027). Time from revascularization to noncardiac surgery was significantly shorter in the BioFreedom group (38.0 days) than in the CABG group (73.0 days; p=0.042). During the hospitalization for revascularization period, the occurrence of primary outcomes did not differ between the groups. However, the BioFreedom group showed a shorter hospitalization period and lower total treatment cost than the CABG group. During the hospital stay for noncardiac surgery, the occurrence of composite outcome was not significantly different between groups (4% vs. 0%; p>0.999): stroke occurred in only 1 case, and there were no cases of death or stent thrombosis in the BioFreedom group. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that BioFreedom stenting as a revascularization strategy before major noncardiac surgery might be feasible and safe in selected patients with less severe coronary artery diseases.
Coronary Artery Bypass ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Vessels* ; Drug-Eluting Stents ; Health Care Costs ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Myocardial Infarction ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Preoperative Care ; Stents* ; Stroke ; Thrombosis ; Transplants

Decision-making for treatment of newly diagnosed prostate cancer (PCa) is complex due to the multiple initial treatment modalities available. We aimed to externally validate the SCaP (Severance Study Group of Prostate Cancer) Survival Calculator that incorporates a long short-term memory artificial neural network (ANN) model to estimate survival outcomes of PCa according to initial treatment modality. Materials and Methods The validation cohort consisted of clinicopathological data of 4,415 patients diagnosed with biopsy-proven PCa between April 2005 and November 2018 at three institutions. Area under the curves (AUCs) and time-to-event calibration plots were utilized to determine the predictive accuracies of the SCaP Survival Calculator in terms of progression to castration-resistant PCa (CRPC)–free survival, cancer-specific survival (CSS), and overall survival (OS). Results Excellent discrimination was observed for CRPC-free survival, CSS, and OS outcomes, with AUCs of 0.962, 0.944, and 0.884 for 5-year outcomes and 0.959, 0.928, and 0.854 for 10-year outcomes, respectively. The AUC values were higher for all survival endpoints compared to those of the development cohort. Calibration plots showed that predicted probabilities of 5-year survival endpoints had concordance comparable to those of the observed frequencies. However, calibration performances declined for 10-year predictions with an overall underestimation. Conclusion The SCaP Survival Calculator is a reliable and useful tool for determining the optimal initial treatment modality and for guiding survival predictions for patients with newly diagnosed PCa. Further modifications in the ANN model incorporating cases with more extended follow-up periods are warranted to improve the ANN model for long-term predictions.

Decision-making for treatment of newly diagnosed prostate cancer (PCa) is complex due to the multiple initial treatment modalities available. We aimed to externally validate the SCaP (Severance Study Group of Prostate Cancer) Survival Calculator that incorporates a long short-term memory artificial neural network (ANN) model to estimate survival outcomes of PCa according to initial treatment modality. Materials and Methods The validation cohort consisted of clinicopathological data of 4,415 patients diagnosed with biopsy-proven PCa between April 2005 and November 2018 at three institutions. Area under the curves (AUCs) and time-to-event calibration plots were utilized to determine the predictive accuracies of the SCaP Survival Calculator in terms of progression to castration-resistant PCa (CRPC)–free survival, cancer-specific survival (CSS), and overall survival (OS). Results Excellent discrimination was observed for CRPC-free survival, CSS, and OS outcomes, with AUCs of 0.962, 0.944, and 0.884 for 5-year outcomes and 0.959, 0.928, and 0.854 for 10-year outcomes, respectively. The AUC values were higher for all survival endpoints compared to those of the development cohort. Calibration plots showed that predicted probabilities of 5-year survival endpoints had concordance comparable to those of the observed frequencies. However, calibration performances declined for 10-year predictions with an overall underestimation. Conclusion The SCaP Survival Calculator is a reliable and useful tool for determining the optimal initial treatment modality and for guiding survival predictions for patients with newly diagnosed PCa. Further modifications in the ANN model incorporating cases with more extended follow-up periods are warranted to improve the ANN model for long-term predictions.