Serum alkaline phosphatase is a predictor of mortality, myocardial infarction, or stent thrombosis after implantation of coronary drug-eluting stent.

AIMS The association between alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and mortality was reported in several subgroups of patients. But, the role of ALP in overall coronary artery disease (CAD) patients after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) remains unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the prognostic value of the ALP level in patients with CAD who underwent PCI with drug-eluting stent (DES). METHODS AND RESULTS We prospectively included CAD patients who underwent PCI with DES. After exclusion of patients with liver disease and cancer, 1636 patients were selected for the analysis of clinical outcomes (median duration of follow-up; 762 days, inter-quartile range; 494-1068 days), and were classified into tertiles by baseline measurements of ALP (<63, 63-78, and >78 IU/L). After adjustment of potential confounders including angiographic data, the independent and dose-dependent association was observed between tertile of ALP and the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of all-cause mortality (P for trend < 0.0001). Specifically, compared with the lowest ALP tertile, the adjusted HR of all-cause mortality in the highest tertile was 4.21 (95% confidence interval 2.03-8.71). In subgroup of patients with stable or unstable angina, a similar association was noted (P for trend < 0.0001). In terms of cardiovascular mortality, myocardial infarction, and stent thrombosis, the adjusted HRs in the highest ALP tertile were 3.92 (1.37-11.20), 1.98 (0.91-4.29), and 2.73 (1.33-5.61), respectively, compared with the lowest tertile. Furthermore, evaluation of both ALP and C-reactive protein provided better predictive value than either alone. Interesting result suggesting the mechanism was that ALP was significantly associated with the presence of angiographic coronary calcification (P for trend = 0.046). CONCLUSION Our study demonstrated that the higher serum ALP level is an independent predictor of mortality, myocardial infarction, and stent thrombosis in CAD patients after PCI with DES.