Selection Bias in the Use of Thrombolytic Therapy in Acute Myocardial Infarction

Abstract

Objective. —To determine whether clinical selection for thrombolytic therapy for acute myocardial infarction results in a skewed population for subsequent adverse cardiovascular events. Design. —A comparison of the clinical features of the patients in the Survival and Ventricular Enlargement Study who either had or had not received thrombolytic therapy was conducted in both univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses. Setting. —Hospitalized patients experiencing acute myocardial infarction from 112 broadly representative, private, academic, and government hospitals in the United States and Canada. Patients. —All patients in the Survival and Ventricular Enlargement Study had had a recent myocardial infarction (JAMA. 1991;266:528-532)