• Teuku Muhammad Haykal Putra, Wishnu Aditya Widodo, Bayushi Eka Putra, Sunarya Soerianata, Achmad Fauzi Yahya, and Jack Wei Chieh Tan.
• Jakarta Heart Center, Department of Cardiology and Vascular Medicine, Jakarta, 13140, Indonesia.
• Postgrad Med J. 2024 Jun 20.

BackgroundThe utilization of postdilatation in primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is feared to induce suboptimal coronary blood flow and compromise the outcome of the patients. This meta-analysis sought to verify whether postdilatation during primary PCI is associated with worse angiographic or long-term clinical outcomes.MethodsSystematic literature searches were conducted on PubMed, The Cochrane Library, ClinicalTrials.gov, EBSCO, and Europe PMC on 10 March 2024. Eligible studies reporting the outcomes of postdilatation among ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients were included. The primary outcome was no-reflow condition during primary PCI based on angiographic finding. The secondary clinical outcome was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) comprising all-cause death, myocardial infarction, target vessel revascularization (TVR), and stent thrombosis.ResultsTen studies were finally included in this meta-analysis encompassing 3280 patients, which was predominantly male (76.6%). Postdilatation was performed in 40.7% cases. Postdilatation was associated with increased risk of no-reflow during primary PCI [Odd Ratio (OR) = 1.33, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.12-1.58; P = .001)]. Conversely, postdilatation had a tendency to reduce MACE (OR = 0.70, 95% CI: 0.51-0.97; P = .03) specifically in terms of TVR (OR = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.22-0.74; P = .003). No significant differences between both groups in relation to mortality (OR = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.32-1.05; P = .07) and myocardial infarction (OR = 1.5, 95% CI: 0.78-2.89; P = .22).ConclusionsPostdilatation after stent deployment during primary PCI appears to be associated with an increased risk of no-reflow phenomenon after the procedure. Nevertheless, postdilatation strategy has demonstrated a significant reduction in MACE over the course of long-term follow-up. Specifically, postdilatation significantly decreased the occurrence of TVR. Key messages: What is already known on this topic?  Optimizing stent deployment by performing postdilatation during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is essential for long-term clinical outcomes. However, its application during primary PCI is controversial due to the fact that it may provoke distal embolization and worsen coronary blood flow. What this study adds?  In this systematic review and meta-analysis of 10 studies, we confirm that postdilatation during primary PCI is associated with worse coronary blood flow immediately following the procedure. On the contrary, this intervention proves advantageous in improving long-term clinical outcomes, particularly in reducing target vessel revascularization. How this study might affect research, practice, or policy?  Given the mixed impact of postdilatation during primary PCI, this strategy should only be applied selectively. Future research should focus on identifying patients who may benefit from such strategy.© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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