Relationship among clinical characteristics, morphological culprit plaque features, and long-term prognosis in patients with acute coronary syndrome

Culprit lesions of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) could be classified as plaque rupture (PR), erosion, or calcified nodule (CN). We aimed to determine the relationship among clinical characteristics, morphological plaque features, and long-term prognosis in ACS. Patients with ACS, who underwent pre-intervention optical coherence tomography between April 2013 and July 2018 were retrospectively enrolled, and classified into the three groups based on the culprit lesion morphology. In the 436 patients enrolled, incidences of PR, erosion, and CN in ACS culprit lesions were 46.1, 39.9, and 14.0%, respectively. Plaque erosion was more frequent in men aged < 60 years and CN was more frequent in older adults in both sexes (≥ 80 years) (P < 0.001). Patients with CN had a higher incidence of hemodialysis treatment (P < 0.001) and diabetes (P = 0.003). Multivariate analysis revealed that ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) (P = 0.049) and presence of thin-cap fibroatheroma (TCFA) at the culprit lesion were independently associated with PR; in younger patients (< 60 year), preserved left ventricular ejection fraction and lower incidence of TCFA were correlated with plaque erosion; and older age, non-STEMI, or unstable angina pectoris, higher serum brain natriuretic peptide levels, and lower incidence of TCFA were independently associated with CN. Multivariable analysis revealed that CN (odds ratio [OR] 1.990, P = 0.005), male sex (OR 2.012, P = 0.004), and older age (OR 1.036, P < 0.001) were independently associated with future adverse events during a median follow-up of 757 days. Different patient characteristics and morphological features were associated with the type of culprit lesion in patients with ACS.