Aim: Percutaneous coronary interventions require an arterial approach and administration of antithrombotic drugs. This may lead to bleeding complications. The aim of this study was to test whether "The Secret" - a pagan prayer - is effective in reducing post-interventional bleeding.
Design: Randomised controlled trial.
Setting: Monocentric, tertiary care centre.
Participants: From January to July 2022, 200 patients (aged >18 years) undergoing elective coronary angiography were included in the study.
Intervention: The intervention group received "The Secret" in addition to the normal procedure. The control group was treated according to standard practice.
Main outcome measures: The primary outcome was the rate of in-hospital bleeding according to the Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) consensus definition.
Results: The rate of bleeding was similar in both groups ("The Secret" group vs control group) with 16% versus 14% (p=0.69) of BARC 1, 12% versus 13% (p=0.81) of BARC 2, and 0% versus 0% of BARC 3 and 5 (p=1.00). Most (76%) of the participants believed that "The Secret" would be efficient in preventing bleeding.
Conclusions: This study demonstrates no effect on bleeding after percutaneous coronary procedures. A large majority of our study population believe that "The Secret" can have a positive effect on their hospital care.
Keywords: Cardiac Catheterization; Coronary Angiography; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.
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