Adjunctive medications in patients receiving thrombolytic therapy: a multicenter prospective assessment. The Virginia Multicenter Thrombolytic Study Group

OBJECTIVE: To describe the use of adjunctive therapies in patients with acute myocardial infarction receiving thrombolytic agents. DESIGN: Data were collected prospectively by the study-site investigator or the emergency department physician caring for the patient. Study participation did not influence thrombolytic regimen selection or the adjunctive therapies ordered. SETTING: Thirteen Virginia hospitals representing a cross-section of hospitals in the state. Eleven are urban medical centers; four have graduate medical education programs. PARTICIPANTS: Patients were included in the study if the decision to administer thrombolytic therapy was made in the emergency department. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Concomitant medications administered during the first six hours after initiation of thrombolytic therapy. RESULTS: Two hundred ten patients (aged 57 +/- 14.1 y) were evaluated. Ninety-five percent of these patients were treated with tissue plasminogen activator, 3 percent received anisoylated plasminogen streptokinase activator complex, and 2 percent received streptokinase. Ninety-one percent of the patients also received heparin, the most commonly used adjunctive medication; 77 percent concomitantly received lidocaine; 62 percent received aspirin; and only 19 percent received a beta-blocker. CONCLUSIONS: Our data provide a reference point for future studies to determine factors that influence the selection of adjunctive agents for treating patients with acute myocardial infarction receiving thrombolytics.