Potts J, Nagaraja V, Al Suwaidi J, et al. - Researchers used the National Inpatient Sample to examine the link between comorbidity burden and periprocedural outcomes in patients treated with PCI. From 2004 to 2014, they identified 6,601,526 PCI procedures. Using the Elixhauser classification system (ECS) including 30 comorbidity measures, they defined comorbidities. Fivefold increase risk of in-hospital mortality, a fourfold increase in in-hospital periprocedural complications and an 11-fold increase in major bleeding events was reported in patients with the greatest comorbid burden (as defined by an ECS of > 13), after adjusting for disparities in baseline patient features, in this study of over six million PCI procedures. Additionally, a significant influence of ECS on the length of stay was noted. Also, ECS doubled the healthcare costs. Comorbid burden was identified as a crucial predictor of poor results post-PCI and it was recommended to be viewed as part of the decision-making processes in patients undergoing PCI.