One Year Survival is not Affected by Gastrointestinal Bleeding After Percutaneous Coronary Interventions

Abstract Background/Aims Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has been the main therapy in acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and early antithrombotic agents as well as one-year dual antiplatelet are required adjuvant therapy. However, the development of post-PCI gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding may increase all-cause mortality. We compared the characteristics and outcomes of patients with GI bleeding within one year after PCI with those who did not develop bleeding. Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from 384 PCI procedures performed between January 2011 and December 2013 at our hospital participating in the National Cardiovascular Data registry. Endpoints were identified after 30 days, 90 days, and one year post-procedure for evidence of GI bleeding or new onset anemia. Variables were compared between patients with and without GI bleeding using t-test and Fisher′s exact test. Kaplan Meier curve was constructed for estimating bleeding free survival probability. Results Over a one-year follow-up period, there were 39 cases (10.2%, 95% CI: 0.073–0.136) of documented GI bleeds. Females were found to have a significantly higher frequency of GI bleeding than males (16.8% vs. 8.0%, p=0.018), and Hispanics more than non-Hispanics (11.7% vs. 1.7%, p=0.017). All patients with GI bleeding survived at one-year. Conclusion In our study in a predominantly Hispanic population, a high incidence of GI bleeding after PCI occurred. However, there was no association between the incidence of GI bleeding and all-cause mortality, whether PCI was performed in the setting of ACS or as an elective procedure. There is a need to conduct a larger prospective study to validate the findings of our study.