Clinical research in cardiology : official journal of the German Cardiac Society
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The recommendation for the use of the intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) as adjunct in patients with cardiogenic shock undergoing primary PCI in current guidelines is controversial. We sought to investigate the use and impact of the outcome of IABP in current practice of percutaneous coronary interventions in Germany. ⋯ In the current clinical practice in Germany, IABP is used only in one quarter of patients with cardiogenic shock treated with primary PCI. We observed no benefit of IABP on outcome, which supports the findings of the randomized IABP-Shock II trial.