Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors in patients with unstable angina/non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: appropriate interpretation of the guidelines.
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.
Antman
Elliott M
EM
Harvard Medical School, and the Coronary Care Unit, Samuel A Levine Cardiac Unit, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Mass, USA.
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
D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; D019039:Platelet Glycoprotein GPIIb-IIIa Complex