Changes in white blood cell count after primary percutaneous coronary intervention are more prognostic of outcomes for patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction than baseline values. The study measured serial white blood cell counts before and after PCI in STEMI patients and found that persistent white blood cell elevation was an even stronger predictor of poor prognosis and increased mortality than a single high baseline count.

1. CHANGE OF WHITE BLOOD CELL
COUNT MORE PROGNOSTIC
IMPORTANT THAN BASELINE
VALUES AFTER PRIMARY
PERCUTANEOUS CORONARY
INTERVENTION FOR
ST ELEVATION MYOCARDIAL
INFARCTION

2.  Elevated baseline white blood cell (WBC)
counts in patients with ST segment elevation
myocardial infarction (STEMI) have been
associated with increased infarct size and
higher in-hospital and long-term mortality
 Persistent WBC count elevation may be an
even more important predictor of a poor
prognosis than a single baseline WBC count.

3.  However, the relationship between serial WBC
measurements and clinical outcome in
patients with STEMI is unknown.
 Therefore, we measured serial WBC counts,
before and after primary percutaneous
coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with a
STEMI and assessed whether WBC count
changes were associated with clinical
outcome.