Primary percutaneous coronary intervention without on-site cardiac surgery backup in unselected patients with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction: the Rivoli ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (RISTEMI) registry

BACKGROUND: Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is the preferred reperfusion strategy for patients with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), but some concerns remain about its safety and efficacy in centers without on-site cardiac surgery (OCS).METHODS: The Infermi Hospital in Rivoli, Italy, is a community hospital without OCS with a high volume catheterization laboratory (>800 PCI and >150 primary PCI per year), which provides a 24-hour primary PCI service to a population of 583.000 and is only 14 km far from the nearest OCS hospital. We analyzed clinical and procedural data, as well as 30-day outcome, of all STEMI patients treated by primary PCI within 12 hours from symptom onset.RESULTS: From September 2001 to June 2010, 1302 patients with a suspect of STEMI underwent urgent coronary angiography. Of these, 1251 (96.1%), underwent primary PCI. A successful myocardial revascularization was achieved in 1172 patients (93.7%). Thirty-day mortality occurred in 7.1%. Multivariate predictors of 30-day mortality were: age ≥75 years (OR 3.96, p=0.0003), left ventricular ejection fraction ≤40% (OR 35.0, p=0.02), cardiogenic shock at presentation (OR 33.4, p<0.0001), anterior STEMI (OR 1.82, p=0.036) and total ischemic time ≤3 hours (OR 0.55, p=0.05).CONCLUSIONS: Primary PCI is a reperfusion strategy feasible and effective in unselected high-risk STEMI patients even in hospitals without OCS with a high volume of routine and emergency interventional procedures.