Doralisa Morrone, Mattia Alberti, João Cravo, María Jesús Espinosa Pascual, Joaquín Jesús Alonso Martín, Vlatka Reskovic Luksic, Jadranka Separovic Hanzevacki, Gamze Babur Güler, Arda Güler, Kristopher Knott, Cornelia Margineanu, Mercè Roqué, Marie-Annick Clavel, Tomas Cieza, Shantanu Sengupta, Maria Marketou, Michaela Kyriakou, Elektra Papadopoulou, Krasimira Hristova, Abiah Pritchard, Maria Mavrogianni, Konstantinos Pappas, Christina Karamarkou, Wei Wang, Alessia Gimelli, Danilo Neglia, Raffaele De Caterina, Victoria Delgado, Fausto Pinto, Julia Grapsa, Ana G Almeida
Advanced diagnostic testing was associated with a higher likelihood of a determined etiologic diagnosis in MINOCA, despite marked international variability in its use; however, this association is partly definitional, as advanced testing directly contributes to diagnostic ascertainment for several etiologic categories. These findings nonetheless support closing the guideline-practice gap in advanced testing, while underscoring the need to distinguish mechanistically confirmed diagnoses from presumptive ones.
AIMS: Myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA) is a heterogeneous group of clinical entities requiring further investigation to assess aetiology. The European Society of Cardiology guidelines recommend advanced tests to establish an underlying mechanism. We evaluated advanced diagnostic testing utilization and real-world adherence to the current guideline in an international MINOCA registry.
METHODS AND RESULTS: DOMINO is a prospective, multicentre, non-commercial registry enrolling 365 patients with MINOCA across 17 centres in 13 countries. Advanced testing was defined as cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), intracoronary imaging, and/or invasive coronary functional assessment. The association between advanced testing and diagnostic resolution was assessed by multivariable logistic regression, with standard, cluster-robust, and generalized estimating equation (GEE) approaches to account for clustering by centre. Guideline-directed testing was performed in 254/365 (69.6%) and varied markedly by country (0-100%, P < 0.0001). A specific etiologic diagnosis was reached in 337/365 patients (92.3%). Advanced testing was associated with diagnostic resolution in the standard and GEE models, with a directionally consistent but non-significant cluster-robust estimate [standard odds ratio (OR) 3.94, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.59-10.06; cluster-robust OR 3.75, 95% CI 0.95-14.72, P = 0.058; GEE OR 3.69, 95% CI 1.04-13.11]. Diagnostic resolution increased progressively with the extent of testing performed, from 85.6% with no advanced testing to 97.1% with CMR plus invasive/functional assessment (trend P = 0.02). Discharge pharmacotherapy varied significantly by etiologic diagnosis (P = 0.0001).
CONCLUSION: Advanced diagnostic testing was associated with a higher likelihood of a determined etiologic diagnosis in MINOCA, despite marked international variability in its use; however, this association is partly definitional, as advanced testing directly contributes to diagnostic ascertainment for several etiologic categories. These findings nonetheless support closing the guideline-practice gap in advanced testing, while underscoring the need to distinguish mechanistically confirmed diagnoses from presumptive ones.