title: Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors in patients with unstable angina/non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: appropriate interpretation of the guidelines.
abstract: In 2002, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association published an update to their guidelines for the management of patients with unstable angina and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. These revised guidelines make specific recommendations regarding the use of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors. This article briefly reviews the evidence supporting the use of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors in unstable angina and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, before moving on to discuss interpretation of these new guidelines.
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, and the Coronary Care Unit, Samuel A Levine Cardiac Unit, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Mass, USA.
authors.forename: Elliott M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Antman
mesh_terms: D000789:Angina, Unstable / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019039:Platelet Glycoprotein GPIIb-IIIa Complex / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic
chemical_list: D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; D019039:Platelet Glycoprotein GPIIb-IIIa Complex