title: Adjunctive thrombus aspiration versus conventional percutaneous coronary intervention in ST-elevation myocardial infarction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this analysis is to determine the effects on mortality of thrombus aspiration during primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) for ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) compared with conventional PCI.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Adjunctive thrombus aspiration in STEMI improves markers of myocardial reperfusion but evidence for improved survival is limited to the TAPAS trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used data of 3,750 consecutive STEMI patients treated with either conventional PCI or thrombus aspiration between August 1, 2001 and January 1, 2009. For each patient, a propensity score was calculated based on clinical and angiographic characteristics, predicting a patient's probability of having been treated with thrombus aspiration. This propensity score was used in several ways to account for differences between patients treated with and without thrombus aspiration. In our primary analysis, patients treated with thrombus aspiration were matched one-to-one with patients treated with conventional PCI on their propensity score (1,391 matched pairs). Kaplan Meier and Cox regression models were used to estimate the influence of treatment on one-year mortality.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 1,502 patients (40.1%) were treated with thrombus aspiration. In the propensity matched cohort, after one year 7.2% of patients treated with thrombus aspiration had died compared with 9.3% of patients in the control group. The hazard ratio for one-year mortality in patients treated with thrombus aspiration was 0.76 (95% CI: 0.59-0.99; P = 0.043). The hazard ratio remained materially unaltered and statistically significant in secondary analyses, varying between 0.61 and 0.77.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The routine use of thrombus aspiration was associated with reduced one-year mortality in this large real-world patient cohort. These data support the observed survival benefit in the TAPAS trial.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Wouter J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Kikkert
authors.forename: Bimmer E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Claessen
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: van Geloven
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Baan
authors.forename: Marije M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Vis
authors.forename: Karel T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: Jan J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Piek
authors.forename: Jan G P
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Tijssen
authors.forename: Jose P S
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Henriques
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D062645:Percutaneous Coronary Intervention / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000401:mortality*; D057216:Propensity Score; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012307:Risk Factors; D013396:Suction; D017131:Thrombectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000401:mortality*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome