The Influence of Anemia After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention on Clinical Outcomes

Background Although the consequences of bleeding after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are well documented, there are no data on the impact of post‐PCI anemia (PPA) on clinical outcomes. Methods We evaluated the incidence, predictors, and prognostic implications of PPA on clinical outcomes in 1415 PCI procedures. We compared clinical outcomes of patients with PPA (ie, nadir post‐PCI hemoglobin < 10 gm/dL) vs without PPA. In patients with PPA, we assessed the influence of thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI; major or minor) bleeding, drop in hemoglobin by ≥ 3 gm/dL, and use of blood transfusions on outcomes. Results Post‐PCI anemia developed in 124 (8.8%) patients. Of these, 50 (40%) suffered TIMI (major or minor) bleeding, 68 (55%) had a hemoglobin drop of ≥ 3 gm/dL, and 39 (32%) patients received blood transfusions. Compared to patients without PPA, those with PPA had greater incidence of 6 month death (6.5% vs 1.7 %, p = 0.003), 6 month major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE; death, reinfarction, or target vessel revascularization; 27.3% vs 14.5%, p = 0.0006), and long‐term mortality (25.8% vs 8.7 %, p ≤ 0.0001). After adjustment for baseline differences, PPA showed an independent association with 6 month MACE (odds ratio [OR]: 2.4, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.5–3.9) and long‐term mortality (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.3, 95% CI: 1.0–1.6). In patients who developed PPA, the occurrence of TIMI (major or minor) bleeding, hemoglobin drop of ≥ 3 gm/dL, and use of blood transfusions did not impact outcomes. conclusion We found that PPA is common, occurs frequently in the absence of bleeding or significant drop in hemoglobin, and connotes poor long‐term outcomes. Copyright © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.