Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess risk of inpatient surgery at any time after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stents (DES).
Background: Risk of adverse events, including stent thrombosis (ST), in patients undergoing surgical procedures with prior DES remains poorly defined.
Methods: Outcomes of consecutive patients having inpatient surgical procedures after PCI with DES, placed from April 28, 2003 until December 31, 2006 at a tertiary-care medical center, were studied. Primary and secondary end points were 30-day post-operative risk of the Academic Research Consortium (ARC) definite and modified probable definitions of ST and combined 30-day post-operative risk of death, nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI), or ST, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to determine independent risk factors.
Results: Six hundred six inpatient surgeries on 481 patients with a mean time from PCI to surgery of 1.07 +/- 0.89 years were evaluated. The primary and secondary end points occurred after 11 (2.0%) and 56 (9%) surgeries, respectively. Risk of the combined end point and ST decreased significantly in the first 1 to 6 months after PCI (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.014, respectively); however, risk persisted when time between PCI and surgery was >12 months. Independent correlates of the combined end point include emergency surgery, antecedent MI, the pre-operative use of intravenous heparin, and atherosclerotic lesion length treated with DES. Oral antiplatelet status at time of surgery was not a correlate of events.
Conclusions: Risk of 30-day post-operative adverse events, including ST, remains significantly higher when surgery is performed soon after PCI, while intermediate-term risk extending at least 2 to 3 years remains important.