Utilization of catheterization and revascularization procedures in patients with non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndrome over the last decade.

The degree to which catheterization and revascularization procedures are utilized in patients with non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) during hospitalization has broad implications with respect to initial pharmacotherapeutic decisions (upfront therapies), treatment and hospital transfer protocols, guideline recommendations, and allocation of training, material, and financial resources. Analysis of data from multiple trials and registries of patients with NSTE-ACS has the potential to assess more broadly utilization of invasive and revascularization procedures and provide a wide angle or bird's-eye view of the management of such patients, complementing the data obtained from any one trial or registry. We therefore undertook a systematic overview of all large trials and registries of patients with NSTE-ACS conducted over the last decade that were deemed appropriate to provide information on catheterization and revascularization procedures. Although not unexpectedly the percentage of patients with NSTE-ACS managed with cardiac catheterization, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and coronary artery bypass grafting varies in different clinical trials and registries, general findings and trends were still discernable from these studies. During the initial treatment period, the majority of patients were ultimately treated with medical therapy alone (e.g., without revascularization). The percentage of those NSTE-ACS patients undergoing diagnostic cardiac catheterization who were then managed with PCI increased over the last decade and now stands at approximately 50%. Of NSTE-ACS patients who undergo revascularization, the percentage of those patients who are revascularized via PCI similarly increased, and PCI is currently the revascularization procedure utilized in approximately three-fourths of patients undergoing revascularization. The percentages of patients undergoing invasive and revascularization procedures were consistently higher in the U.S. cohorts of study subjects when compared to non-U.S. cohorts of study subjects.