Background: Clarification is needed as regards the relationship between the total bilirubin level and
the outcome of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with ST-segment
elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).
Methods: Between April 2015 and April 2016, consecutive patients with STEMI who underwent
primary PCI were prospectively enrolled in a primary PCI registry. The patients’ demographics,
initial total bilirubin levels, procedural characteristics, and in-hospital and 6 months’ major
adverse cardiac events were assessed.
Results: A total of 95 patients who underwent primary PCI were enrolled in the study. The mean
bilirubin level was 1.04 mg/dL with a standard deviation of 1.154. We evaluated the
relationships between the median of the initial total bilirubin level, the thrombolysis in
myocardial infarction (TIMI) flow grade after PCI and following PCI, 6 months’ follow-up
complications, the amount of the peak troponin and CK-MB levels, the amount of mitral
regurgitation, the ejection fraction, and electrocardiographic changes including ST resolution
and the Q-wave formation after primary PCI. Except for the levels of troponin and CK-MB,
there were no relationships between the initial total bilirubin level and the other end points.
Conclusions: Recent studies have shown that the serum total bilirubin level is independently associated
with short-term outcomes in patients with STEMI. We found a direct relationship between the
total bilirubin level and the peak levels of troponin and CK-MB after primary PCI. This
outcome is consistent with other studies; nonetheless, we found no such relationships vis-à-vis
the other end points. This result may be due to our small patient population.