Comparison of the efficacy of excimer laser coronary angioplasty for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction with onset-to-balloon time

Excimer laser coronary angioplasty (ELCA) vaporizes plaques and thrombi, provides better microcirculation, and reduces peripheral embolism when treating acute coronary syndrome. Studies on the efficacy of ELCA for long onset-to-balloon time ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) are limited. Thus, we aimed to examine the efficacy of ELCA for STEMI using the onset-to-balloon time (OBT). A total of 319 patients with STEMI who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention from 2009 to 2012 and from 2015 to 2019 were enrolled. Patients who underwent PCI in 2009–2012 were considered the conventional group, and those treated with ELCA in 2015–2019 were considered the ELCA group. Patients were stratified by OBT. The endpoints were the final thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) grade, myocardial blush grade (MBG), and slow-flow or no-reflow phenomenon during the procedure. The ELCA group had 167 patients, and the conventional group had 123. There was no significant difference in achieving final TIMI 3 between the groups. The acquisition rate of final MBG 3 was significantly higher in the ELCA than in the conventional group (79.6% vs. 65.9%; P = 0.01). There was a significant difference between the groups with OBT 12–72 h (82.1% vs. 56.0%; P = 0.031). The slow- or no-reflow incidence during the procedure was significantly lower in the ELCA than in the conventional group with OBT 12–72 h (17.8% vs. 52.2%; P = 0.019). ELCA improves the MBG and reduces intraoperative slow- or no-reflow phenomenon in patients with STEMI, 12–72 h after onset. ELCA will be useful in preventing peripheral embolism in patients with long onset-to-balloon time STEMI.