Aim: To determine the relationship between baseline white blood cell (WBC) count, clinical characteristics and mid-, and long-term clinical outcomes in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) treated with primary mechanical reperfusion (PCI) in real-life conditions.
Methods and results: 958 consecutive prospective registry patients addmitted for primary PCI to a tertiary cardiological center followed-up clinically for one year.
One-year and 2.6-year mortality rate were 7.6 and 9.4%, respectively. A higher baseline WBC count was independent predictor of both 1-year (OR 1.09; 95% CI 1.02-1.17) and 2.6-year mortality (OR 1.06; 95% CI 1.01-1.11), as was final TIMI <3 and age >70 years. Higher baseline WBC counts were independently associated with adverse clinical characteristics reflecting patients’ status on admision including Killip class >1 (p=0.033), heart rate >100/minute (p=0.015), and systolic blood pressure <100 mmHg (p=0.027).
Conclusions: WBC count independently predicts mid-term mortality in patients with STEMI treated with contemporary mechanical reperfusion. Increased WBC count on admission seem at least partly reflect patients’ adverse clinical condition on admission. Our findings may support a role of WBC count in risk prediction following myocardial infarction.