Lipid Plaque Burden in NSTE-ACS patients with or without COPD: insights from the SCAP trial

BACKGROUND COPD patients have higher recurrence of adverse events and worse prognosis after acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The underlying pathophysiological mechanism is not fully elucidated. METHODS In screening for COPD in ACS (SCAP) trial (NCT02324660), ACS patients with smoking habit underwent a predischarge screening procedure to detect undiagnosed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (UCOPD) confirmed with spirometry at 60 days. Patients were then categorized as UCOPD or no-COPD. In 65 NSTE-ACS patients, we performed near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in the culprit and at least one non-culprit vessel (151 vessels overall), and we calculated the SYNTAX I score. Primary endpoint was max lipid core burden index (LCBI) 4 mm. Secondary endpoints were SYNTAX score I and vessel LCBI. RESULTS Max LCBI 4 mm and vessel LCBI were significantly higher in the UCOPD compared to the no-COPD group (UCOPD 388±122, no-COPD 264±131, p