Procedural and in-patient outcomes in patients aged 80 years or older undergoing contemporary primary percutaneous coronary intervention

Aims: Patients aged >= 80 years are often excluded or under-represented in trials assessing treatment modalities in STEMI. We assessed in-patient outcomes in elderly patients undergoing contemporary primary PCI (PPCI). Methods and results: From Sept 2005 to July 2011 patients undergoing PPCI in our centre were identified. Demographic details, procedural data and in-patient outcomes were collated. Those aged >= 80 years were compared with those aged <80 years. In the study period 1,218 patients required PPCI, of which 224(18.4%) were >= 80 years. The elderly cohort were more likely to be female (44.3% vs. 20.3%; p<0.001), and have significant comorbidities. Times from first medical contact until TIMI 3 flow were similar between the two groups (medien 102 min vs. 109 min; p=0.19). There was no difference in rates of PCI success (97.3% vs. 98.3%; p=0.24), drug-eluting stent use (63.5% vs. 63.3%; p=1.00) and number of stents used. In-patient outcomes were worse in the elderly cohort with significantly higher rates of death (11.2% vs. 3.7%; p<0.001) and acute kidney injury (12.9% vs. 4.0%; p<0.001), with a trend towards more post-procedure cardiovascular accidents (CVA), access site complications and reinfarction. Length of stay was significantly longer in the elderly cohort (median days 5 vs. 3; p<0.001). Conclusions: Important demographic differences exist in very elderly patients presenting with STEMI compared to younger patients though procedural data and PCI success rates are similar between the two groups. Those aged >= 80 years have significantly worse in-patient outcomes though death rates are not as high as historical data suggests.