Background:
Diabetes mellitus is associated with increased mortality rates in the setting of acute myocardial infarction. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether there are peculiarities in the atherothrombotic process that might be implicated in increased risk for this outcome in patients with diabetes.
Methods:
Pilot study in a cohort of patients with ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention and aspiration thrombectomy. Clinical and laboratory variables were evaluated in all of the cases. Thrombi were analyzed for histopathological features as well as immunohistochemical expression of CD34, CD61 and factor VIII.
Results:
Our sample included the first ten diabetic patients with material available for analysis, who were matched according to age, gender and time elapsed since myocardial infarction with ten patients without diabetes. There was no significant association between the immunohistochemical expression of CD34, CD61 and factor VIII with other histopathological, clinical and laboratory variables, including the presence of diabetes mellitus.
Conclusions:
In this preliminary analysis, it was not possible to demonstrate any significant difference in the expression of endothelial cell activity, platelet function and activation of the coagulation cascade between thrombi of patients with and without diabetes undergoing primary coronary intervention.
Myocardial infarction; Diabetes mellitus; Coronary thrombosis; Immunohistochemistry; Percutaneous coronary intervention