Streptokinase in Acute Myocardial Infarction

In a controlled trial of streptokinase in acute myocardial infarction, 512 of 2338 patients at 11 European centers were stratified according to clinical severity. Three hundred fifteen patients allocated to medium-risk and high-risk groups were randomized to a 24-hour infusion of streptokinase or glucose. There were no essential differences in the severity of illness in the two groups before infusion. The overall mortality rates within six months were significantly lower (P less than 0.01) in the streptokinase group (15.6 per cent) than in the control group (30.6 per cent). Bleeding complications were more frequent in the streptokinase group; except for two nonfatal cerebral hemorrhages these complications were clinically unimportant. The treatment was generally well tolerated. We tolerated. We conclude that streptokinase given under the conditions of this trial -- to medium-risk patients admitted to a coronary-care unit within 12 hours of onset of symptoms -- reduces mortality at six months. (N Engl J Med 301:797-802, 1979)