We studied the inhibition of tissue kallikrein by protein C inhibitor (PCI), a relatively unspecific heparin-dependent serine protease inhibitor present in plasma and urine. PCI inhibited the amidolytic activity (cleavage of H-D-valyl-L-leucyl-arginine-p-nitroaniline) of urinary kallikrein with an apparent second order rate constant of 2.3 x 10(4) M-1 s-1 and formed stable complexes (85 kDa) wi...

BACKGROUND Studies in the United States suggested that the characteristics of hospitals providing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) differed from those not providing PCI. However, little is known on the differences between the characteristics of early-adopting hospitals and those of late-adopting hospitals, and on their potential impacts on PCI volume and access. METHODS AND RESULTS We...

AIM Evidence of improved survival after use of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in elderly patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is limited. We assessed the association between PCI and long-term mortality in octogenarians with ACS. METHODS AND RESULTS We followed 353 consecutive patients aged ≥80 years hospitalized with ACS during 2006-2007. Among them, 182 were treated with PCI...

BACKGROUND Substantial geographic variation exists in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) use across the United States. It is unclear the extent to which high PCI utilization can be explained by PCI for inappropriate indications. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between PCI rates across regional healthcare markets utilizing hospital referral regions (HRRs) and PC...

OBJECTIVE To explore the impact of a "one-week" staged multivessel percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) versus culprit-only PCI on deaths and major adverse cardiac events (MACE). METHODS We retrospectively analyzed 447 patients with multivessel disease who experienced a ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) within 12 h before undergoing PCI between July 26, 2008 and September...

OBJECTIVES We evaluated whether patients' clinical status, angioplasty success, or both, should guide discharge after primary angioplasty (i.e., percutaneous coronary intervention [PCI]) for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). BACKGROUND Current guidelines do not address a discharge strategy for AMI patients undergoing successful PCI. METHODS Patients who underwent PCI in Primary Angioplasty...

Protein C inhibitor (PCI) is a serpin that inhibits a number of proteases. PCI is found in urine and binds to kidney epithelial cells. To determine if kidney is a source of PCI, cDNA was produced from human kidney total RNA. Sequencing and restriction mapping showed identity between kidney and liver PCI cDNA sequences. Similar cDNAs were obtained from rhesus monkey kidney and liver RNAs. Condit...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to investigate the safety and efficacy of thrombolysis followed by early percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). METHODS A total of 161 patients were enrolled in the study. Fifty-three of them who underwent thrombolysis in non-PCI hospital and immediately transferred to receive early...

BACKGROUND Studies have shown that a subset of patients demonstrate persistent impairment in microcirculatory function after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Distal embolization of plaque contents has been postulated as the main mechanism for this. We sought to investigate this further by evaluating PCI-induced changes in myocardial perfusion reserve index (MPRI) over time in segments ...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in in-hospital and longer-term mortality for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients with multivessel disease as a function of whether they underwent single-vessel (culprit vessel) percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) or multivessel PCI. BACKGROUND The optimal treatment of patients with STEMI and mul...