Clinical decision-making in patients with non-ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction: more than risk stratification.

Objective: This study aims to explore the association between risk stratification and total occlusion (TO) of the culprit artery and multivessel disease (MVD) in patients with non-ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and to obtain more data on clinical decision-making in addition to risk stratification.

Methods: We retrospectively collected data from 835 patients with NSTEMI admitted to our hospital between 1 January 2016 and 1 August 2022. All patients underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) within 72 h of admission. We excluded patients with a history of cardiac arrest, myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass grafting, or PCI. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed to determine the predictors of acute TO and MVD.

Results: A total of 349 (41.8%) patients presented with a TO culprit vessel, whereas 486 (58.2%) had a patent culprit vessel. Thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) and Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) risk stratifications were similar between the two groups of patients (P = 0.712 and 0.991, respectively). The TO infarct vessel was more commonly observed in the left circumflex artery. Patients with TO were more likely to develop MVD (P = 0.004). Univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses were performed to evaluate the role of variables in the presence of TO and MVD in patients with NSTEMI. Regional wall motion abnormalities (RWMAs) [odds ratio (OR) = 4.022; confidence interval (CI): 2.782-5.813; P < 0.001] were significantly linked to TO after adjusting for potentially related variables. Furthermore, age (OR = 1.032; CI: 1.018-1.047; P < 0.001), hypertension (OR = 1.499; CI: 1.048-2.144; P = 0.027), and diabetes mellitus (OR = 3.007; CI: 1.764-5.125; P < 0.001) were independent predictors of MVD in patients with NSTEMI. TIMI and GRACE risk scores were related to MVD prevalence in the multivariate logistic regression model. Patients with a TO culprit vessel had a higher risk of out-of-hospital cardiac death after a 2-year follow-up compared with those without a TO culprit vessel (P = 0.022).

Conclusion: TIMI and GRACE risk scores were not associated with a TO of the culprit artery; however, they correlated with the prevalence of MVD in patients with NSTEMI. RWMA is an independent predictor of acute TO in patients with NSTEMI. Patients with a TO culprit vessel had worse clinical outcomes than those without a TO culprit vessel.