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The outbreak of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) has had a great impact on medical care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate of hospital admissions has been lower and the rate of in-hospital mortality has been higher in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in Western countries. However, in Japan, it is unknown whether the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the incidence of ACS. In the study, eleven hospitals in the Tokai region participated. Among enrolled hospital, we compared the incidence of ACS during the COVID-19 pandemic (April and May, 2020) with that in equivalent months in the preceding year as the control. During the study period; April and May 2020, 248 patients with ACS were admitted. Compared to April and May 2019, a decline of 8.1% [95% confidence interval (CI) 5.2-12.1; P = 0.33] in admissions for ACS was observed between April and May 2020. There was no significant difference in the strategy for revascularization and in-hospital deaths between 2019 and 2020. In conclusion, the rate of admission for ACS slightly decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to the same months in the preceding year. Moreover, degeneration of therapeutic procedures for ACS did not occur., Competing Interests: There is no conflict of interest regarding the manuscript.

Background: The deterioration of renal function is a strong prognostic predictor in patients with coronary artery disease. Although percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has sometimes resulted in improved renal function (IRF) in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients, its clinical implications have not been fully elucidated. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and predictors of IRF after PCI and its relationship with long-term renal outcomes., Methods: In this retrospective observational cohort study, we examined data from 177 ACS patients with non-dialysis advanced renal dysfunction (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] < 30 mL/min/1.73 m 2 ) who underwent PCI. Patients with and without IRF were compared in terms of baseline demographic, clinical, and procedural characteristics and renal outcomes. IRF was defined as a 20% increase in eGFR from baseline at 7 or 30 days after the index PCI., Results: IRF was observed in 66 (37.3%) patients. ST-elevation myocardial infarction and shock during PCI were independent predictors of IRF. Patients were followed up for a median of 695 days. Kaplan-Meier analyses demonstrated that patients with IRF had the lower incidence of initiation of permanent dialysis than those without IRF (Log-rank P = 0.015)., Conclusions: IRF was relatively common in non-dialysis patients with ACS and advanced renal dysfunction who underwent PCI. ST-elevation myocardial infarction and shock, which may be indicative of hemodynamic instability during PCI, were independent predictors of IRF. Further, IRF was associated with favorable renal outcomes. Hemodynamic stabilization may be important for improving the short-term and long-term renal outcomes of high-risk patients., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest H.I. received lecture fees from Astellas Pharma Inc., Astrazeneca Inc., Daiichi-Sankyo Pharma Inc., and MSD K. K. T.M. received lecture fees from Bayel Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Daiichi-Sankyo Co., Ltd., Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd., Kowa Co., Ltd., MSD K. K., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Co., Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim Co., Ltd., Novartis Pharma K. K., Pfizer Japan Inc., Sanofi-Aventis K. K., and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. T.M. received an unrestricted research grant for the Department of Cardiology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine from Astellas Pharma Inc., Daiichi-Sankyo Co., Ltd., Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd., Kowa Co., Ltd., MSD K. K., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Co., Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim Co., Ltd., Novartis Pharma K. K., Otsuka Pharma Ltd., Pfizer Japan Inc., Sanofi-Aventis K. K., Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and Teijin Pharma Ltd., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) has recently been recognized as a cause of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), especially in young women. However, the characteristics, optimal treatment, and prognosis of patients who experience SCAD have not been fully described., Methods: Data were retrospectively collected from a multicenter registry. Among 187 young women less than 60 years of age who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention, 19 (10.2%) with SCAD were identified through coronary angiography. Clinical characteristics and outcomes were investigated., Results: Those with SCAD less frequently exhibited coronary risk factors, such as diabetes, dyslipidemia, and smoking, than those without SCAD. Intense emotional and/or physical stress was more frequently observed as a prominent precipitating factor in cases of SCAD. All 19 SCAD patients presented with ACS, 7 of whom were treated using stents, and the other 12 treated without stents. During a median follow-up of 960 days (interquartile range, 686-1504 days), two recurrent coronary artery dissections occurred within 7 days, both of which occurred in a vessel other than that in which primary dissection occurred. There were no deaths or recurrent dissection after 1 week., Conclusion: SCAD was not uncommon among young Japanese women requiring percutaneous coronary intervention. Patients with SCAD exhibited fewer coronary risk factors and more precipitating factors than those without SCAD, and long-term clinical outcomes after an early period appeared to be favorable.

Background: Although there are guidelines that recommend an early invasive strategy in patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) and concomitant congestive heart failure (CHF), optimal timing of the invasive strategy remains controversial., Methods: Among 2045 patients who were admitted owing to NSTE-ACS or CHF, 300 presented with NSTE-ACS and concomitant CHF. Of the 300 patients, we enrolled 160 patients for whom coronary angiography (CAG) during their hospital stay was planned at the time of admission; 64 of these patients were classified into the early invasive group (<24h) and 96 were classified to the delayed invasive group (≥24h). We evaluated the primary outcome which was defined as a composite of cardiac mortality, life-threatening arrhythmia, and non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI)., Results: The median time between presentation and CAG was 2h in the early invasive group and 240h in the delayed group. During follow-up, the primary outcome was significantly lower in the early invasive group [hazard ratio (HR), 0.52; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.30-0.87; p=0.01]. After the adjustment of confounding factors, the primary outcome was significantly less frequent (HR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.23-0.78; p=0.004) in the early invasive group compared to the delayed invasive group., Conclusions: The early invasive strategy was associated with a lower risk of the composite primary outcome in the long-term follow-up of patients with NSTE-ACS and concomitant CHF., (Copyright © 2019 Japanese College of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)