Angiograms were reviewed for lesion characteristics, TIMI flow grade, and degree of collateralisation.
In this analysis, we observed Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) flow grade 3 or 2 in all patients, with no incidence of no-reflow.
Angiographic no-reflow (Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction [TIMI] flow grade <3 or 3 with myocardial blush grade 0 or 1 after p-PCI) was assessed immediately after p-PCI.
Initial epicardial coronary flow, as assessed by the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction flow grade (TFG), prior to primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) has been associated with short- and long-term mortality in randomized clinical trials.
Unadjusted mortality was more than 2-fold higher with TIMI flow grades 0 to 2 versus TIMI flow grade 3 (63% vs. 27%).
All patients were revascularized using a coronary artery stent and obtained TIMI flow grade 3 by the end of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
There was a graded inverse relationship with TIMI flow in the IRA and the adjusted mortality (odds ratio [OR] for TIMI flow grades 0/1: 5.47 [95% confidence interval (CI): 4.13 to 7.24] and for TIMI flow grade 2: 2.63 [95% CI: 2.02 to 3.42] compared with TIMI flow grade 3).
CONCLUSIONS: In a CMR substudy of pexelizumab in MI, baseline TIMI flow grade and anterior location were the only predictors of infarct size, with a reduction of pre-PCI TIMI flow grade 0 by 28%, leading to a 35% reduction in infarct size.
Time to stable ST-segment recovery was a multivariate predictor of infarct zone wall motion (P=0.04) independent of TIMI flow grade and the time from symptom onset to streptokinase therapy.
RESULTS: There were no differences between those with or without diabetes with regard to postprocedural Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) flow grade 3 (>95%), distribution of infarct-related artery, and the frequency of stent deployment or abciximab administration.
However, new angiographic techniques, including the corrected TIMI frame count and myocardial blush grade, have been used to show that epicardial TIMI flow grade 3 may be an incomplete measure of reperfusion success.
