title: Primary stenting versus primary balloon angioplasty for treating acute myocardial infarction.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Balloon angioplasty following myocardial infarction (MI) reduces death, non-fatal MI and stroke compared to thrombolytic reperfusion. However up to 50% of patients experience restenosis and 3% to 5% recurrent myocardial infarction. Therefore, primary stenting may offer additional benefits compared to balloon angioplasty in patients with acute myocardial infarction.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine whether primary stenting compared to primary balloon angioplasty reduces clinical outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction.
  
  
  METHODS
  We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Pascal, Index medicus and The Cochrane Controlled Trials Register (The Cochrane Library) from 1979 to March 2002.
  
  
  METHODS
  Randomised controlled trials of primary stenting or balloon angioplasty prior to the invasive procedure; intervention in native coronary arteries within 24 hours after onset of symptoms of myocardial infarction; report of death or reinfarction; and follow-up of at least 1 month. Trials were excluded when randomisation occurred after an invasive procedure and if they exclusively included patients with cardiogenic shock.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two reviewers independently selected and extracted data from identified trials. Outcomes included mortality, reinfarction, coronary artery bypass grafting, target vessel revascularization, need for vascular repair or blood transfusion. Peto odds ratios were calculated. To explore the stability of the overall treatment effect various sensitivity analyses were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We included nine trials of 4433 participants. Odds ratios for mortality after stenting compared to balloon angioplasty at 30 days, 6 and 12 months were 1.16 (95% CI 0.78 to 1.73), 1.27 (95% CI 0.89 to 1.83), and 1.06 (95% CI 0.77 to 1.45). At 30 days, 6 and 12 months odds ratios for reinfarction after stenting compared to balloon angioplasty were 0.52 (95% CI 0.31 to 0.87), 0.67 (95% CI 0.45 to 1.00), and 0.67 (95% CI 0.45-0.98) and odds ratio for target vessel revascularization after stenting compared to balloon angioplasty were 0.45 (95%CI 0.34 to 0.60), 0.42 (95% CI 0.35 to 0.51), and 0.47 (95% CI 0.38 to 0.57). The odds ratio for post-interventional bleeding complications after stenting compared to balloon angioplasty was 1.34 (95% CI 0.95 to 1.88; test of heterogeneity p > 0.1).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is no evidence to suggest that primary stenting reduces mortality when compared to balloon angioplasty. Stenting seems to be associated with a reduced risk of reinfarction and target vessel revascularization, but potential confounding due to unbalanced post-interventional antithrombotic/anticoagulant therapies can not be ruled out on basis of this review.
authors.affiliation: Basel Institute for Clinical Epidemiology, University Hospital Basel, Hebelstrasse 10, Basel, Switzerland, 4031. nordmanna@uhbs.ch
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Nordmann
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bucher
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hengstler
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Harr
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Young
mesh_terms: D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary; D006801:Humans; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D015607:Stents; D015912:Thrombolytic Therapy