Ethnicity does not affect outcomes of coronary angioplasty.
BACKGROUND
Access to high quality medical care and especially to complex procedures may be adversely affected in members of a minority ethnic group or a lower socioeconomic class. For example, Caucasians undergo coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or percutaneous transluminal coronary interventions (PTCI) twice as frequently as African-Americans. Data exist to suggest that African-Americans derive less benefit than Caucasians from CABG.


OBJECTIVE
We investigated the possibility that outcomes of catheter-based coronary angioplasty might also be less favorable in minority populations.


METHODS
We analyzed in-hospital outcomes in 6,559 consecutive patients who underwent PTCI in our laboratory. In 37 ethnicity was classified as "other," 5,203 (79.8%) were identified as Caucasians, 863 (13.2%), as African-Americans, and 456 (7.0%), as Hispanics. Twelve baseline clinical, angiographic, and procedural characteristics were entered into a computerized data base. Hospital complications were identified by trained quality assurance nurses.


RESULTS
Substantial differences in baseline characteristics existed between the populations. Despite these differences, on univariate comparison of ethnicity and outcome, no differences between ethnic groups were found with a single exception. Mortality in Hispanics was higher than in the other two populations. (2.0 vs. 0.7 and 0.8%, respectively, p = 0.008). However, when this was adjusted for baseline characteristics, the difference was not significant.


CONCLUSIONS
In contrast to previous studies suggesting less favorable outcomes of CABG in African-American patients, this analysis demonstrates an equal frequency of procedural success and rate of hospital complications for PTCI in that population, in Hispanics, and in Caucasians.
Mastoor
M
M
Section of Cardiology, Washington Hospital Center, District of Columbia, USA.
Iqbal
U
U
Pinnow
E
E
Lindsay
J
J
D000368:Aged; D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D044383:Black People; D015897:Comorbidity; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000628:therapy*; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011336:Probability; D011379:Prognosis; D051437:Renal Insufficiency / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D044465:White People; D001741:Black or African American