Effect of an invasive strategy on outcome in patients ≥75 years of age with non-St-elevation acute coronary syndrome

The Italian Elderly ACS study was the first randomized controlled trial comparing an early aggressive with an initially conservative strategy in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes aged ≥75 years, with the results showing no significant benefit of early aggressive therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of trial patients, according to the treatment actually received during hospitalization. The trial enrolled 313 patients. The primary end point was the composite of death, myocardial infarction (MI), disabling stroke, and repeat hospital stay for cardiovascular causes or bleeding within 1 year. All patients in whom coronary angiography was performed during initial hospitalization were defined as having undergone invasive treatment (182 patients), whereas all patients who did not undergo coronary angiography were classified as medically managed (conservative treatment [CT] group, 131 patients). The primary end point occurred in 53 patients (40.5%) in the CT group and 45 patients (24.7%) in the invasive treatment group (hazard ratio 0.56, 95% confidence interval 0.37 to 0.83, p = 0.003). The invasive treatment group showed significantly lower rates of MI (6% vs 13% in the CT group; hazard ratio 0.43, 95% confidence interval 0.20 to 0.92, p = 0.034) and the aggregate of death and MI (14.3% vs 27.5% CT group; hazard ratio 0.48, 95% confidence interval 0.29 to 0.81, p = 0.004). In conclusion, elderly patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes treated invasively experienced significantly better survival free from the composite of all-cause mortality, nonfatal MI, disabling stroke, and repeat hospitalization for cardiovascular causes or bleeding.