AimTo assess the efficacy and safety of sequential therapy with atorvastatin (80 mg atorvastatin pretreatment within 24 hours before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and following 40 mg atorvastatin for one month after PCI) in patients undergoing elective PCI.Methods328 patients undergoing elective PCI were grouped into atorvastatin sequential therapy (ST group, n=127) or routine therapy (RT group, n=201).The primary endpoint was peri-procedural myocardial infarction (defined as a CK-MB elevation >3 times upper limit of normal levels (ULN)) and the second endpoint was 30-day major adverse cardiac event (MACE, a composite end point, including all-cause death, MI, target-lesion revascularization), respectively.Glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT) elevation ≥3 times ULN as a safety endpoint was also addressed.ResultsNo patient had loss of follow-up.The incidence of peri-procedural myocardial infarction was 8.7% in the ST group and 17.9% in the RT group (odds ratio: 0.435, 95%confidence interval: 0.212 to 0.889, p=0.020).The incidence of 30-day MACE was 9.4% in the ST group and 18.4% in the RT group (odds ratio: 0.435, 95%confidence interval: 0.231 to 0.925, p=0.027).GPT elevation ≥3 times ULN occurred in 5 cases in the ST group and 1 case in the RT group (3.94% in the ST group vs 0.5% in the RT group, p=0.034).ConclusionAtorvastatin sequential therapy reduces peri-procedural myocardial infarction and 30-day MACE but may result in more elevated aminotrasferase ≥3 times ULN in patients undergoing elective PCI.