Benefits of pharmacological facilitation with glycoprotein IIb-IIIa inhibitors in diabetic patients undergoing primary angioplasty for STEMI. A subanalysis of the EGYPT cooperation

The Early Glycoprotein IIb-IIIa inhibitors in Primary angioplasty (EGYPT) cooperation aimed at evaluating, by pooling individual patient’s data of randomized trials, the benefits of pharmacological facilitation with Gp IIb-IIIa inhibitors among STEMI patients undergoing primary angioplasty. In the current study we analyze the benefits of early Gp IIb-IIIa inhibitors in diabetic patients. The literature was scanned by formal searches of electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE) from January 1990 to October 2007. We examined all randomized trials on facilitation by early administration of Gp IIb-IIIa inhibitors in STEMI. No language restrictions were enforced. Individual patients’ data were obtained from 11 out of 13 trials, including 1,662 patients. Diabetes was present in 281 (16.9%). Early Gp IIb-IIIa inhibitors were associated with improved preprocedural TIMI 3 flow (26.0% vs. 13.1%, P = 0.006), postprocedural TIMI 3 flow (90.1% vs. 75.0%, P = 0.18), MBG 3 (40.8% vs. 30.4%, P = 0.004), and less distal embolization (11.6% vs. 20.8%, P = 0.05). However, early Gp IIb-IIIa inhibitors did not significantly reduce mortality (8.3% vs. 9.5%, P = 0.64). This meta-analysis shows that pharmacological facilitation with early administration of Gp IIb-IIIa inhibitors in STEMI patients with diabetes undergoing primary angioplasty, is associated with significant benefits in terms of preprocedural and postprocedural TIMI flow, improved myocardial perfusion, without significant benefits in mortality.