Prognostic Value of Admission Blood Urea Nitrogen/Creatinine Ratio in Patients with STEMI Undergoing Late Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Objective : Numerous patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), especially in developing countries, undergo late percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), defined as time of PCI > 24 hours from symptom onset. This study is aimed to identify the predictive value of admission blood urea nitrogen/creatinine ratio (BUN/Cr) on long-term all-cause mortality and cardiac mortality in STEMI patients receiving late PCI. Methods : Eligible STEMI patients who received late PCI between 2009 and 2011 were consecutively enrolled. They were classified into two groups based on the median BUN/Cr: low BUN/Cr group and high BUN/Cr group. Patients were followed up by phone or face to face interviews and medical records review. The primary endpoint was defined as all-cause mortality and cardiac mortality. Results : 780 STEMI patients were enrolled finally. The median BUN/Cr was 14.29. The median follow-up period was 41 months, with 37 all-cause deaths and 25 cardiac deaths. Compared to the low BUN/Cr group, high BUN/Cr group had higher all-cause mortality (6.4% vs. 3.1%, P=0.029), and cardiac mortality (6.3% vs. 1.5%, P<0.001). The Cox proportional hazard analysis revealed that high BUN/Cr at admission was an independent predictor of long-term cardiac mortality (P=0.003), but not of all-cause mortality (P=0.077). Conclusions : High BUN/Cr ratio at admission was an independent predictor of cardiac mortality in STEMI patients receiving late PCI. Brief Summary: In a retrospective study of STEMI patients receiving late PCI, we found that high BUN/Cr ratio (BUN/Cr>14.29) at admission was an independent predictor of long-term cardiac mortality, but not of all-cause mortality. The study showed that BUN/Cr ratio could be a potential indicator of risk stratification models for STEMI patients undergoing late PCI.