[Predictors of prognosis after angioplasty in the unprotected left main coronary artery]

The short-term and long-term predictors of outcome after coronary angioplasty in the unprotected left main coronary artery were investigated.

The procedure was performed in 122 consecutive patients for de novo lesions without myocardial infarction in our hospital between April 1986 and October 1998, including 16 emergency cases. Procedures were directional coronary atherectomy (73 patients), balloon angioplasty (31 patients), and stent implantation (18 patients). There were 101 males and mean age was 68 +/- 10 years. Follow-up angiography was performed in 98% of discharged patients, and all patients were clinically followed up for more than 1 year. Clinical and angiographic predictors of in-hospital and long-term outcome were evaluated.

The in-hospital mortality was 5.7% (7 of 122 patients). Multivariate analysis revealed that more patients were admitted as emergency cases (57% vs 10%, p = 0.0088), with left ventricular ejection fraction < or = 35% (57% vs 22%, p = 0.029) and renal failure (43% vs 3%, p = 0.0004) finally died. Mean follow-up period was 3.5 years. Estimated survival rate was 77.1%, and cardiac-death free survival rate was 81.0% at 5 years by the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate analysis showed that the predictors of cardiac death were emergency angioplasty, renal failure, decreased left ventricular ejection fraction, multivessel disease and unstable angina and/or congestive heart failure. Cox's regression model showed that renal failure (p = 0.0004) and multivessel disease (p = 0.0075) were significant predictors of long-term prognosis.

Renal failure was the strongest predictor of outcome after unprotected left main coronary artery angioplasty.