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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Ioakim SpyridopoulosORCiD, Dr Mohammad Alkhalil, Dr Scott Wilkes, Dr Bilal Bawamia, Dr Mohaned Egred
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2026 by the authors. Background/Objectives: People with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) with an occluded culprit vessel represent a unique subset of patients; however, their long-term outcomes remain unclear. This study aimed to compare 5-year mortality between NSTEMI patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) based on TIMI flow states in the culprit vessel on presentation (TIMI 0-1 compared to TIMI 2-3). Methods: A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data of all NSTEMI patients who underwent PCI from 2012 to 2019 at a tertiary cardiac center (The Freeman Hospital, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK) with follow up for 5 years until January 2024. Patients were identified from the database and categorized based on pre-procedural TIMI flow in the culprit vessel. A propensity score was used to pair TIMI 0-1 patients with a matched cohort of TIMI 2-3 patients. The primary outcome was 5-year all-cause mortality. Results: A total of 775 patients with TIMI 0-1 flow were matched with 750 patients who had TIMI 2-3 flow. Patients with TIMI 0-1 flow were more likely to have transient ST elevation (24% vs. 18%, p < 0.001) or Q waves (4% vs. 1%, p < 0.001) compared with patients who had TIMI 2-3 flow. They were also more likely to have moderately to severely impaired left ventricular systolic function compared with patients with TIMI 2-3 flow (21% vs. 16%, p = 0.01). In-hospital mortality (1.2% vs. 1.2%, p = NS), 1-year mortality (5% vs. 6.9%, p = NS), and 5-year mortality (16% vs. 18%, p = 0.34) were not significantly different between the two groups. The use of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa antagonists was associated with lower mortality, HR 0.64 (0.46 to 0.87). Conclusions: NSTEMI patients with occluded culprit vessels who underwent PCI had similar in-hospital and long-term outcomes to patients with patent culprit vessels. The use of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors appears to be associated with lower mortality.
Author(s): Abdeldayem T, Khan H, Farag M, Spyridopoulos I, Alkhalil M, Wilkes S, Brilakis ES, Bawamia B, Egred M
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Journal of Clinical Medicine
Year: 2026
Volume: 15
Issue: 12
Online publication date: 10/06/2026
Acceptance date: 08/06/2026
Date deposited: 15/07/2026
ISSN (electronic): 2077-0383
Publisher: MDPI
URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm15124486
DOI: 10.3390/jcm15124486
Data Access Statement: The original contributions presented in this study are included in the article. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.
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