Benefits and Risks of Abciximab Use in Primary Angioplasty for Acute Myocardial Infarction

Abstract

Background— Trials of platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors as adjuncts to primary percutaneous coronary intervention for acute myocardial infarction (MI) have shown improved early clinical and angiographic outcomes with treatment. However, variations in trial designs, modest sample sizes, and limited long-term follow-up have precluded these studies from being definitive. Methods and Results— As a prespecified secondary analysis of the CADILLAC trial, we compared early and late outcomes by abciximab assignment among 2082 patients randomized in an open-label, 2×2 factorial-design trial of primary stenting versus angioplasty and abciximab treatment (n=1052) versus no abciximab treatment (n=1030). Baseline characteristics were balanced between groups. Abciximab treatment was associated with a significant reduction in the composite end point of death, MI, ischemia-driven target-vessel revascularization (TVR), or disabling stroke at 30 days (4.6% versus 7.0%; relative risk, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.46 to 0.93; P=0....