Does abciximab provide long-term benefit for patients with acute myocardial infarction treated with stents?
BACKGROUND The number of revascularization procedures performed has been shown to be reduced when stents are used in primary per cutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for patients with acute myo cardial infarction (AMI). The Abciximab Before Direct Angioplasty and Stenting in Myocardial Infarction Regarding Acute and Long-term Follow-up (ADMIRAL) trial has already shown that adjunctive glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibition with abciximab can effectively lower mortality, the incidence of myocardial infarction (MI) and the number of revascularization procedures at 30 days compared with placebo; however, the long-term effects of abciximab are not known.