Objective: To examine the procedural and long term success of coronary stenting in patients presenting with unstable angina and the effect of warfarin on the clinical outcome of these high risk patients.
Design: A nonrandomized, retrospective analysis of patients presenting with unstable angina.
Setting: A tertiary care, Canadian university-affiliated teaching hospital.
Patients: Of 1250 patients who underwent percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty between January 1994 and June 1995, 365 underwent coronary stenting. The study population consisted of the 156 patients presenting with unstable angina who underwent coronary stenting. Patients with Canadian Cardiovascular Society class IV and postinfarction angina were included.
Interventions: Stent delivery by standard techniques to the target lesion was successful in all patients. At discharge, 88 patients were prescribed warfarin, ticlopidine and acetylsalicylic acid (ASA); the remaining 68 patients received only ticlopidine and ASA. Late clinical outcomes were assessed by telephone interview.
Results: The overall procedural success rate was 96%. One patient died in hospital (0.6%). Other events were abrupt closure (1.9%), myocardial infarction (1.9%) and urgent bypass surgery (1.9%). During follow-up, target vessel reintervention was needed in 19.6% of patients. Early and late clinical outcomes did not differ significantly between anticoagulated patients and those treated with antiplatelet agents alone, but anticoagulated patients had a significantly longer hospital stay.
Conclusions: Coronary stenting in patients with unstable angina was associated with excellent procedural success and favourable late clinical outcomes. Warfarin added no apparent additional clinical benefit to antiplatelet agents in this high risk population.