[Urokinase in the therapy of spontaneous angina]

In an open non-comparative clinical study, 19 patients with spontaneous angina pectoris admitted to hospital with attacks lasting greater than 10 minutes, unresponsive to nitrate and/or calcium antagonist treatment, at least 2 ECG readings of raised (greater than or equal to 1.5 mm) or lowered (greater than or equal to 1 mm) ST segment not attributable to earlier AMI in the same area, were treated after the interruption of conventional treatment (mean 47 +/- 34.2 min) with 2 million IU endovenous UK in 15 mins followed by 1 million IU endovenous UK in 60 mins. Sixty minutes after UK administration was terminated, they were given a bolus of 5000 IU calcium heparin, followed by 1000 IU per hour for 2 days. Coronary angiography (Judkins technique) was performed before the start of UK treatment and 15, 30, 45, 60 and 75 minutes into it.

Basal coronarography showed only "multiple organic stenosis" in 5 out of the 19 patients, a more complex situation suggestive of thrombi in the coronary arteries in 14. Subsequent angiographies (mean 30 mins later) revealed coronarographic improvement in 11 out of the 19 (58%), or 11 out of 14 (78.5%) if we exclude those with simple stenosis. Angina attacks were significantly lower in the 8 days after UK treatment than in the week before it in terms of number (4 v. 1; p less than 0.01), global severity (7 v. 1.5; p less than 0.01) and global duration (45 v. 4.25 min; p less than 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)