Contemporary outcome trends in the elderly undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions: results in 7,472...

We sought to define the risks facing octogenarians undergoing contemporary percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs).

The procedural risks of PCI for octogenarians have not been well established.

We compared the clinical characteristics and in-hospital outcomes of 7,472 octogenarians (mean age 83 years) with those of 102,236 younger patients (mean age 62 years) who underwent PCI at 22 National Cardiovascular Network (NCN) hospitals from 1994 through 1997.

Octogenarians had more comorbidities, more extensive coronary disease and a two- to fourfold increased risk of complications, including death (3.8% vs. 1.1%), Qwave myocardial infarction (1.9% vs. 1.3%), stroke (0.58% vs. 0.23%), renal failure (3.2% vs. 1.0%) and vascular complications (6.7% vs. 3.3%) (p < 0.001 for all comparisons). Independent predictors of procedural mortality in octogenarians included shock (odds ratio [OR] 5.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.3 to 8.8), acute myocardial infarction (OR 3.2, 95% CI 2.3 to 4.4), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) <35% (OR 2.9, 95% CI 2.1 to 3.9), renal insufficiency (OR 2.8, 95% CI 2.0 to 3.8), first PCI (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.7 to 3.3), age >85 years (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.5 to 2.7) and diabetes mellitus (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.0). For elective procedures, octogenarian mortality varied nearly 10-fold, and was strongly influenced by comorbidities (0.79% mortality with no risk factors vs. 7.2% with renal insufficiency or LVEF <35%). Despite similar case-mix, PCI outcomes in octogenarians improved significantly over the four years of observation (OR of 0.61 for death/myocardial infarction/stroke in 1997 vs. 1994; 95% CI 0.45 to 0.85).

Risks to octogenarians undergoing PCI are two- to fourfold higher than those of younger patients, strongly influenced by comorbidities, and have decreased in the stent era.