ST2 PLASMA LEVEL IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION WITHOUT ST ELEVATION AND DIFFERENT CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The aim. Estimation of ST2 plasma level in patients with acute myocardial infarction without ST elevation (NSTEMI) and its relationship with different clinical characteristics. Materials and methods. 165 patients aged from 35 to 79 (average of 60.7±0.8 years) with various forms of coronary artery disease (CAD) with and without arterial hypertension were examined. The variability of plasma ST2 level in different forms of CAD and in NSTEMI group was analyzed depending on gender-age and clinical characteristics and features of the disease course. Results: The results of the present investigation were that the ST2 level in the main cohort was in range from 5.5 to 233.9 (in the middle – 49.8±3.5 ng / ml (median indicator – 34.7 and the interquartile range – 21.9 and 59.1 respectively). Significantly higher ST2 levels were found in patients with NSTEMI, unlike the comparison group, in the median analysis (35.9 vs. 27.7 ng/ml, p=0.047) and no statistical differences were observed in the mean values. In patients with NSTEMI, a certain association of ST2 level in plasma with the MI course was detected. A higher level of neurohormone is registered with anterior unlike posterior ECG localization of MI; at high unlike moderate risk on the GRACE scale; when complicated unlike the uncomplicated course of MI; in the case of acute HF and cardiac arrhythmias unlike patients with the absence of these manifestations in the acute period of MI. Conclusions. High variability of ST2 level in plasma was demonstrated in patients with NSTEMI on the first day after destabilization (minimum and maximum values – 12.7 and 233.9 respectively, median – 35.9 and interquartile range – 25.9 and 55.7 ng / ml). It is shown that significantly higher ST2 level in plasma is determined in patients with acute MI regardless of its variant among different clinical forms of CAD. It is found that significantly higher level of ST2 in patients with NSTEMI is recorded in the case of concomitant HTN and type 2 diabetes, with smoking and heavy cardiovascular heredity. Proved influence of the character of MI course on the level of ST2 in plasma, significantly higher level of neurohormone was determined with anterior localization of MI, high risk on the GRACE scale (≥ 140 points), complicated course of MI, development of cardiac arrhythmias and HF in the acute period of MI

Medical Fuzzy-Expert System for Assessment of the Degree of Anatomical Lesion of Coronary Arteries

Background: Today, cardiovascular diseases cause 47% of all deaths among the European population, which is 4 million cases every year. In Ukraine, CAD accounts for 65% of the mortality rate from circulatory system diseases of the able-bodied population and is the main cause of disability. The aim of this study is to develop a medical expert system based on fuzzy sets for assessing the degree of coronary artery lesions in patients with coronary artery disease. Methods: The method of using fuzzy sets for the implementation of an information expert system for solving the problems of medical diagnostics, in particular, when assessing the degree of anatomical lesion of the coronary arteries in patients with various forms of coronary artery disease, has been developed. Results: The paper analyses the main areas of application of mathematical methods in medical diagnostics, and formulates the principles of diagnostics, based on fuzzy logic. The developed models and algorithms of medical diagnostics are based on the ideas and principles of artificial intelligence and knowledge engineering, the theory of experiment planning, the theory of fuzzy sets and linguistic variables. The expert system is tested on real data. Through research and comparison of the results of experts and the created medical expert system, the reliability of supporting the correct decision making of the medical expert system based on fuzzy sets for assessing the degree of anatomical lesion of the coronary arteries in patients with various forms of coronary artery disease with the assessment of experts was 95%, which shows the high efficiency of decision making. Conclusions: The practical value of the work lies in the possibility of using the automated expert system for the solution of the problems of medical diagnosis based on fuzzy logic for assessing the degree of anatomical lesion of the coronary arteries in patients with various forms of coronary artery disease. The proposed concept must be further validated for inter-rater consistency and reliability. Thus, it is promising to create expert medical systems based on fuzzy sets for assessing the degree of disease pathology

Ticagrelor in patients with diabetes and stable coronary artery disease with a history of previous percutaneous coronary intervention (THEMIS-PCI) : a phase 3, placebo-controlled, randomised trial

Background: Patients with stable coronary artery disease and diabetes with previous percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), particularly those with previous stenting, are at high risk of ischaemic events. These patients are generally treated with aspirin. In this trial, we aimed to investigate if these patients would benefit from treatment with aspirin plus ticagrelor. Methods: The Effect of Ticagrelor on Health Outcomes in diabEtes Mellitus patients Intervention Study (THEMIS) was a phase 3 randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial, done in 1315 sites in 42 countries. Patients were eligible if 50 years or older, with type 2 diabetes, receiving anti-hyperglycaemic drugs for at least 6 months, with stable coronary artery disease, and one of three other mutually non-exclusive criteria: a history of previous PCI or of coronary artery bypass grafting, or documentation of angiographic stenosis of 50% or more in at least one coronary artery. Eligible patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to either ticagrelor or placebo, by use of an interactive voice-response or web-response system. The THEMIS-PCI trial comprised a prespecified subgroup of patients with previous PCI. The primary efficacy outcome was a composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (measured in the intention-to-treat population). Findings: Between Feb 17, 2014, and May 24, 2016, 11 154 patients (58% of the overall THEMIS trial) with a history of previous PCI were enrolled in the THEMIS-PCI trial. Median follow-up was 3·3 years (IQR 2·8–3·8). In the previous PCI group, fewer patients receiving ticagrelor had a primary efficacy outcome event than in the placebo group (404 [7·3%] of 5558 vs 480 [8·6%] of 5596; HR 0·85 [95% CI 0·74–0·97], p=0·013). The same effect was not observed in patients without PCI (p=0·76, p interaction=0·16). The proportion of patients with cardiovascular death was similar in both treatment groups (174 [3·1%] with ticagrelor vs 183 (3·3%) with placebo; HR 0·96 [95% CI 0·78–1·18], p=0·68), as well as all-cause death (282 [5·1%] vs 323 [5·8%]; 0·88 [0·75–1·03], p=0·11). TIMI major bleeding occurred in 111 (2·0%) of 5536 patients receiving ticagrelor and 62 (1·1%) of 5564 patients receiving placebo (HR 2·03 [95% CI 1·48–2·76], p<0·0001), and fatal bleeding in 6 (0·1%) of 5536 patients with ticagrelor and 6 (0·1%) of 5564 with placebo (1·13 [0·36–3·50], p=0·83). Intracranial haemorrhage occurred in 33 (0·6%) and 31 (0·6%) patients (1·21 [0·74–1·97], p=0·45). Ticagrelor improved net clinical benefit: 519/5558 (9·3%) versus 617/5596 (11·0%), HR=0·85, 95% CI 0·75–0·95, p=0·005, in contrast to patients without PCI where it did not, p interaction=0·012. Benefit was present irrespective of time from most recent PCI. Interpretation: In patients with diabetes, stable coronary artery disease, and previous PCI, ticagrelor added to aspirin reduced cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, and stroke, although with increased major bleeding. In that large, easily identified population, ticagrelor provided a favourable net clinical benefit (more than in patients without history of PCI). This effect shows that long-term therapy with ticagrelor in addition to aspirin should be considered in patients with diabetes and a history of PCI who have tolerated antiplatelet therapy, have high ischaemic risk, and low bleeding risk