A randomized trial of intravenous and intracoronary streptokinase in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

The clinical effects of intravenous streptokinase in patients with acute myocardial infarction were compared with those of intracoronary streptokinase in a randomized, prospective study. Comparisons were also made with a historical control group. Fifty patients were entered into the study at 2.4 +/- 1.2 hr after onset of pain, and 27 were assigned to intravenous and 23 to intracoronary therapy. The doses of streptokinase averaged 212,000 U ic and 845,000 U iv (0.75 X 10(6) U/5 hr, n = 14 or 10(6) U/1 hr, n = 13). Results of studies of the two intravenous dosage schedules were similar and so were combined. Streptokinase was administered at 2.8 +/- 1.0 hr after onset of pain in the intravenous and at 4.3 +/- 1.4 hr in the intracoronary drug group (p less than .001). Convalescent (day 10) radionuclide ejection fractions were 54 +/- 14% for the intravenous and 50 +/- 16% for the intracoronary drug group. Change in ejection fraction from day 1 to 10 tended to be greater after intravenous drug: 5.1% (p less than .08) vs 1.2% (NS). Semiquantitative regional wall motion indexes in the infarct zone showed significant and similar modest improvement from admission to day 10 in both groups (p less than .02). Accelerated enzyme-release kinetics were noted after both therapies. Times of peak enzyme levels for patients on intravenous and intracoronary drug were, respectively, 12.5 +/- 5.0 and 11.5 +/- 4.3 hr for creatine kinase MB isoenzyme and 31.7 +/- 11.8 and 28.1 +/- 12.7 hr for lactic dehydrogenase (LDH). Peak LDH-1 level was lower in patients receiving intravenous drug than in the historical control group (p less than .05). Electrocardiographically summed ST segments diminished rapidly after therapy in both groups; Q wave development was similar and overall R wave loss was equivalent and less extensive compared with in historical control subjects. Infarct pain requiring morphine was diminished similarly in both treatment groups. Incidence of early arrhythmias and heart failure also did not differ. Posttherapy ischemic events and early surgery tended to be more common in the intracoronary group and bleeding was more common in the intravenous group. Intravenous drug did not decrease early hospital mortality (intravenous drug = 5, historical control = 4, intracoronary drug = 1); the differences in this parameter among groups were not significant. At convalescent angiographic evaluation, anterograde perfusion was present in 73% of those receiving intravenous and 76% of those receiving intracoronary drug.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)