Randomised trials show a benefit of preventive (non-infarct artery) percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with acute ST elevation myocardial infarction, but non-randomised studies do not. The evidence on each is quantified and assessed. The primacy of randomised trials reveals the danger of using non-randomised studies that can, as in this case, give the wrong answer.
David S Wald - Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, London, UK
Jonathan P Bestwick - Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, London, UK
