Abstract
OBJECTIVE: We aimed to analyze the association between morphine and in-hospital outcomes in invasively managed ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) patients. BACKGROUND: Morphine is commonly used for analgesia in the setting of acute coronary syndromes (ACS); however, recently its utility in ACS has come under closer scrutiny. METHODS: We identified all STEMI and NSTE-ACS patients undergoing coronary angiogram +/- percutaneous intervention between January 2009 and July 2016 in our center and recorded patient characteristics and inpatient outcomes. RESULTS: Overall, 3027 patients were examined. Overall, STEMI patients who received morphine had no difference in in-hospital mortality [4.18% vs. 7.54%, odds ratio (OR): 0.36, P = 0.19], infarct size (mean troponin level 0.75 ng/mL vs. 1.29 ng/mL, P = 0.32) or length of hospital stay (P = 0.61). The NSTE-ACS patients who received morphine had a longer hospital stay (mean 6.58 days vs. 4.78 days, P < 0.0001) and larger infarct size (mean troponin 1.16 ng/mL vs. 0.90 ng/mL, P = 0.02). Comparing matched patients, the use of morphine was associated with larger infarct size (mean troponin 1.14 ± 1.92 ng/mL vs. 0.83 ± 1.49 ng/mL, P = 0.01), longer hospital stay (6.5 ± 6.82 days vs. 4.89 ± 5.36 days, P = 0.004) and a trend towards increased mortality (5% vs. 2%, OR: 2.55, P = 0.06) in NSTE-ACS patients but morphine did not affect outcomes in the propensity matched STEMI patients. CONCLUSION: In a large retrospective study, morphine was associated with larger infarct size, a longer hospital stay and a trend towards increased mortality in invasively managed NSTE-ACS patients even after adjustment for clinical characteristics.