Management of drug eluting stent in-stent restenosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Clinical Value of the Quantitative Flow Ratio to Predict Long-term Target Vessel Failure in Patients with In-stent Restenosis after Drug-coated Balloon Angioplasty

OBJECTIVE

The study sought to investigate the clinical predictive value of quantitative flow ratio (QFR) for the long-term target vessel failure (TVF) outcome in patients with in-stent restenosis (ISR) by using drug-coated balloon (DCB) treatment after a long-term follow-up.

METHODS

This was a retrospective study. A total of 186 patients who underwent DCB angioplasty for ISR in two hospitals from March 2014 to September 2019 were enrolled. The QFR of the entire target vessel was measured offline. The primary endpoint was TVF, including target vessel-cardiac death (TV-CD), target vessel-myocardial infarction (TV-MI), and clinically driven-target vessel revascularization (CD-TVR).

RESULTS

The follow-up time was 3.09±1.53 years, and 50 patients had TVF. The QFR immediately after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was significantly lower in the TVF group than in the no-TVF group. Multivariable Cox regression analysis indicated that the QFR immediately after PCI was an excellent predictor for TVF after the long-term follow-up [hazard ratio (HR): 5.15×10-5 (6.13×10-8-0.043); P<0.01]. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis demonstrated that the optimal cut-off value of the QFR immediately after PCI for predicting the long-term TVF was 0.925 (area under the curve: 0.886, 95% confidence interval: 0.834-0.938; sensitivity: 83.40%, specificity: 88.00; P<0.01). In addition, QFR≤0.925 post-PCI was strongly correlated with the TVF, including TV-MI and CD-TVR (P<0.01).

CONCLUSION

The QFR immediately after PCI showed a high predictive value of TVF after a long-term follow-up in ISR patients who underwent DCB angioplasty. A lower QFR immediately after PCI was associated with a worse TVF outcome.

SCAI Expert Consensus Statement on Management of In-Stent Restenosis and Stent Thrombosis

Stent failure remains the major drawback to the use of coronary stents as a revascularization strategy. Recent advances in imaging have substantially improved our understanding of the mechanisms underlying these occurrences, which have in common numerous clinical risk factors and mechanical elements at the time of stent implantation. In-stent restenosis remains a common clinical problem despite numerous improvements in-stent design and polymer coatings over the past 2 decades. It generates significant health care cost and is associated with an increased risk of death and rehospitalization. Stent thrombosis causes abrupt closure of the stented artery and therefore carries a high risk of myocardial infarction and death. This Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) Expert Consensus Statement suggests updated practical algorithmic approaches to in-stent restenosis and stent thrombosis. A pragmatic outline of assessment and management of patients presenting with stent failure is presented. A new SCAI classification that is time-sensitive with mechanistic implications of in-stent restenosis is proposed. Emphasis is placed on frequent use of intracoronary imaging and assessment of timing to determine the precise etiology because that information is crucial to guide selection of the best treatment option. SCAI recommends image-guided coronary stenting at the time of initial implantation to minimize the occurrence of stent failure. When in-stent restenosis and stent thrombosis are encountered, imaging should be strongly considered to optimize the subsequent approach.

In-Stent Restenosis

In-stent restenosis (ISR) remains a potential complication after percutaneous coronary intervention, even in the era of drug-eluting stents, and its treatment remains suboptimal. Neoatherosclerosis is an important component of the pathology of ISR and is accelerated in drug-eluting stents compared with bare-metal stents. Coronary angiography is the gold standard for evaluating the morphology of ISR, although computed tomography angiography is emerging as an alternative noninvasive modality to evaluate the presence of ISR. Drug-coated balloons and stent reimplantation are the current mainstays of treatment for ISR, and the choice of treatment should be based on clinical background and lesion morphology.

RIP2 Knockdown Attenuates Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells Activation via Negative Regulating Myocardin Expression

BACKGROUND

RIP2 is an adaptor protein contributing to the activation of nuclear factor-κB induced by TNF receptor-associated factor (TRAF) and nucleotide oligomerization domain (NOD)-dependent signaling implicated in innate and adaptive immune response. Beyond regulation of immunity, we aimed to elucidate the role of RIP2 in vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) phenotypic modulation.

METHODS AND RESULTS

In the current study, we observed that RIP2 showed an increased expression in VSMCs with PDGF-BB stimulation in a dose-dependent manner. Knockdown of RIP2 expression mediated by adenovirus dramatically accelerated the expression of VSMC-specific differentiation genes induced by PDGF-BB. Silencing of RIP2 inhibited proliferative and migratory ability of VSMCs. Additionally, we demonstrated that RIP2 knockdown can promoted myocardin expression. Furthermore, RIP2 inhibition also can attenuate the formation of intimal hyperplasia.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggested that RIP2 played an important role in regulation of VSMCs differentiation, migration, and proliferation that may due to affect myocardin expression. Our results indicated that RIP2 may be a novel therapeutic target for intimal hyperplasia.

Impact of directional coronary atherectomy followed by drug-coated balloon strategy to avoid the complex stenting for bifurcation lesions

Although the simple single stenting rather than complex double stenting is recommended on percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for bifurcation lesions, double stenting cannot always be avoided. We investigated the impact of directional coronary atherectomy (DCA), followed by drug-coated balloon (DCB) treatment to reduce the number of stents and avoid complex stenting in PCI for bifurcation lesions and short-term patency. DCA treatment without stents was attempted for 27 bifurcation lesions in 25 patients, of those, 26 bifurcation lesions in 24 patients were successfully treated and 3-month follow-up angiography and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were performed. Sixteen lesions (59.3%) were related to left main trunk distal bifurcations, and 7 (25.9%) were true bifurcation lesions. Among the true bifurcation lesions, 4 lesions (57.1%) needed 1 stent, and the other 3 lesions (42.9%) needed no stents. Among the non-true bifurcation lesions, 1 lesion (5.0%) needed bailout stent and other lesions (95.0%) needed no stents. According to DCA followed by DCB treatment, the angiographic mean diameter stenosis improved from 65.5 ± 15.0% to 7.8 ± 9.8%, and the mean plaque area in intravascular ultrasound improved from 80.4 ± 10.5% to 39.0 ± 11.5%, respectively. Angiographic and OCT late lumen loss values were 0.2 ± 0.6 mm and 1.4 ± 1.9 mm, respectively. No patient had in-hospital major adverse cardiac events (MACE) and 3-month MACE. In conclusion, compared with standard provisional side branch stenting strategy, DCA followed by DCB treatment might reduce the number of stents, avoid complex stenting for major bifurcation lesions and provide good short-term outcomes.

Clinical Outcomes of Drug-Eluting versus Bare-Metal In-Stent Restenosis after the Treatment of Drug-Eluting Stent or Drug-Eluting Balloon: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background

Although drug-eluting stents (DES) have reduced the rates of in-stent restenosis (ISR) compared with bare-metal stents (BMS), DES related ISR (DES-ISR) still occurs and outcomes of DES-ISR remain unclear. The objective of this meta-analysis was to investigate the long-term clinical outcomes of patients with DES-ISR compared with patients with BMS related ISR (BMS-ISR) after the treatment of DES or drug-eluting balloon (DEB). Methods and results. We searched the literature in the main electronic databases including PUBMED, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. The primary endpoints were target lesion revascularization (TLR) and target vessel revascularization (TVR). The secondary endpoints included all cause death (ACD), cardiac death (CD), myocardial infarction (MI), stent thrombosis or re-in-stent restenosis (ST/RE-ISR), and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs). A total of 19 studies with 6256 participants were finally included in this meta-analysis. Results showed that the rates of TLR (P < 0.00001), TVR (P < 0.00001), CD (P=0.02), ST/RE-ISR (P < 0.00001), and MACEs (P < 0.00001) were significantly higher in the DES-ISR group than in the BMS-ISR group. No significant differences were found between the two groups in the rates of MI (P=0.05) and ACD (P=0.21).

Conclusions

Our study demonstrated that patients with DES-ISR had worse clinical outcomes at the long-term follow-up than patients with BMS-ISR after the treatment of DES or DEB, suggesting that DES and DEB may be more effective for BMS-ISR than that for DES-ISR. Positive prevention of DES-ISR is indispensable and further studies concentrating on detecting the predictors of outcomes of DES-ISR are required.

Drug-coated balloons for coronary artery disease: current concepts and controversies

Drug-coated balloons (DCBs) are a novel development for percutaneous coronary intervention. The first successful application was in-stent restenosis but in recent years, strong evidence has been released for its use in native small-vessels disease. Additional applications such as acute myocardial infarction, chronic total occlusion and bifurcation lesions are still under investigation. This article reviews the key studies evaluating the role of DCBs in several settings and reports on interesting cases where DCBs showed positive results for high-risk patients with neoplasm, as well as with high bleeding risk, planned surgery or renal injury. We also highlight a new biodegradable therapy for coronary bifurcation treatment, in which a bioresorbable vascular scaffold is implanted in the main branch, completed with a DCB angioplasty in the side branch when a treatment is deemed necessary.

Intravascular ultrasound guidance improves patient survival (mortality) after drug-eluting stent implantation: review and updated bibliography

Individual studies IVUS vs angiography-guided DES implantation studies, whether randomized clinical trials or registries are underpowered, to show a reduction in mortality, especially at 1 year of follow-up. However, either meta-analyses or the few studies with long-term (> 5 year) follow-up showed that IVUS guidance reduced mortality and improved patient survival, even with second-generation DES.

Restenosis of Drug-Eluting Stents

Despite on-going evolution and iteration of drug-eluting stent (DES) technology, the prevalence of in-stent restenosis (ISR) remains relatively unchanged, encompassing ≈10% of percutaneous coronary interventions. The mechanism of ISR is multifactorial, including biological, mechanical, patient, and operator-related factors. The main mechanical contributors are stent underexpansion or fracture, while biological factors include local inflammation leading to aggressive neointimal proliferation and late neoatherosclerosis. Intracoronary imaging is critical to identify the mechanism of ISR and tailor therapy accordingly. The presentation of DES-ISR is not benign and is challenging for optimal treatment. Among the proposed treatment modalities are scoring and high-pressure balloons, percutaneous coronary intervention with additional DES, atheroablative therapies by laser or mechanical atherectomy, drug-coated balloons, vascular brachytherapy, and surgical revascularization. We propose a new classification for ISR that differentiates among mechanical, biological, and mixed etiologies. Stratifying ISR by mechanism guides individualized treatment of DES-ISR to improve clinical outcomes. An algorithmic approach, guided by intracoronary imaging, for the treatment of DES-ISR, is recommended based on the specific cause of restenosis.

Drug-eluting balloons versus new generation drug-eluting stents for the management of in-stent restenosis: an updated meta-analysis of randomized studies

Background

New-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) was more effective in the treatment of in-stent restenosis (ISR) compared with the first-generation DES. Drug-eluting balloons (DEB) and new-generation DES had been available strategies in treatment of bare-metal stents/DES ISR (BMS/DES-ISR). Six new randomized trials have recently examined the angiographic outcomes and one-year clinical outcomes of DEB and new generation DES in BMS/DES-ISR. However, the optimal management for BMS/DES-ISR lesions remains controversial.

Methods

We searched the randomized clinical trials evaluating the angiographic outcomes and one-year clinical outcomes of DEB and new-generation DES in patients with BMS/DES-ISR. The primary endpoints were the angiographic outcomes, including the minimal luminal diameter (MLD), diameter stenosis % (DS%), late lumen loss (LLL), and binary restenosis (BR).

Results

A total of six randomized clinical trials with 1177 BMS/DES-ISR patients were included in our meta-analysis. For angiographic outcomes, there were significantly less MLD and more DS% with DEB compared to new-generation DES (MLD: MD = -0.18, 95% CI: -0.31- -0.04, P < 0.001; DS%: MD = 5.68, 95% CI: 1.00-10.37, P < 0.001). Moreover, for one-year clinical outcomes, DEB was associated with a significant increase risk in target lesion revascularization (TLR) (RR = 2.93, 95% CI: 1.50-5.72, P = 0.002). However, DEB was associated with higher risks of major adverse cardiac event, target vessel revascularization, TLR, BR, and more DS% only in DES-ISR group.

Conclusions

DEB and new-generation DES have the similar clinical efficacy for the treatment of BMS-ISR. However, DES showed more MLD, less DS%, and a decreased risk of TLR for the treatment of DES-ISR.

The effect of the debulking by excimer laser coronary angioplasty on long-term outcome compared with drug-coating balloon: insights from optical frequency domain imaging analysis

This study evaluated the 1-year efficacy of excimer laser coronary angioplasty (ELCA) before drug-coated balloon (DCB) dilatation for the treatment of in-stent restenosis (ISR). Forty consecutive patients with ISR were treated by DCB with or without the use of ELCA (ELCA plus DCB, N = 20; DCB alone, N = 20). Debulking efficiency (DE) value was defined as the neointima area on optical frequency domain imaging (OFDI) debulked by ELCA. The patients in the ELCA plus DCB group were divided into two groups (greater DE (GDE), N = 10; smaller DE (SDE), N = 10) based on the median value of DE. Thereafter, the ISR segment was prepared with a scoring balloon, followed by DCB. At follow-up, binary restenosis and target lesion revascularization (TLR) were evaluated. There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics such as age, comorbidity, and ISR type. Overall, the incidence of neoatherosclerosis in the ISR segment was 17.5%. Post-PCI, acute gain of minimum lumen diameter on quantitative coronary angiography and of minimum lumen area on OFDI was numerically higher in the GDE than in the SDE and the DCB alone group. At follow-up, the occurrences of binary restenosis and TLR in the ELCA plus DCB group were 20.0% and 10.0%; these values in the DCB alone group were 20.0% and 20.0%, respectively. Two patients from the SDE and none from the GDE developed TLR. DCB alone treatment was inferior to ELCA plus DCB treatment. However, greater ELCA debulking might be required to obtain optimal outcomes.

Late lumen enlargement induced by drug coated balloon in the patient with PTFE-covered stent restenosis

We report a case of percutaneous coronary intervention with drug coated balloon (DCB) for the in-stent restenosis of polytetrafluoroethylene-covered stent. One year follow-up angiography was excellent and in-stent lumen enlargement compared with the postprocedure and 6-months follow-up was demonstrated by optical coherent tomography. This case suggested the utility of DCB as a therapeutic option for covered-stent restenosis.

Drug-Eluting Balloon versus New-Generation Drug-Eluting Stent for the Treatment of In-Stent Restenosis: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Currently, drug-eluting balloon (DEB) appears to be an attractive alternative option for the treatment of in-stent restenosis (ISR). Nevertheless, the clinical outcomes of DEB have seldom been compared to those of new-generation drug-eluting stent (DES). Thus, this meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of DEB compared to those of new-generation DES in the treatment of ISR.

METHODS

A comprehensive search of electronic databases including PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library up to November 2, 2017 was performed to identify pertinent articles comparing DEB to new-generation DES for the treatment of ISR. In addition, conference proceedings for the scientific sessions of the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, European Society of Cardiology, Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics, and EuroPCR were also searched. The primary endpoint was target lesion revascularization (TLR) at the longest follow-up. Dichotomous variables were presented as risk ratios (RR s) with 95% confidence intervals (CI s), while the overall RR s were estimated using the Mantel-Haenszel random-effects model.

RESULTS

Five randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and eight observational studies involving 2743 patients were included in the present meta-analysis. Overall, DEB was comparable to new-generation DES in terms of TLR (RR = 1.24, 95% CI: 0.89-1.72, P = 0.21), cardiac death (RR = 1.55, 95% CI: 0.89-2.71, P = 0.12), major adverse cardiovascular event (RR = 1.21, 95% CI: 0.98-1.48, P = 0.07), myocardial infarction (RR = 1.12, 95% CI: 0.72-1.76, P = 0.62), and stent thrombosis (RR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.38-2.42, P = 0.92). However, DEB was associated with higher risk of all-cause mortality than new-generation DES (RR = 1.65, 95% CI: 1.09-2.50, P = 0.02). This was especially true in the real-world observational studies (RR = 1.79, 95% CI: 1.12-2.88, P = 0.02). In RCTs, however, no significant difference was found between the two treatment strategies in the risk of all-cause mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

The current meta-analysis showed that DEB and new-generation DES had comparable safety and efficacy for the treatment of ISR in RCTs. However, treatment with DEB was associated with higher risk of all-cause mortality in the real-world nonrandomized studies.

Current Management of In-Stent Restenosis

Despite the advent of the drug-eluting stents (DES) and improved stent design, in-stent restenosis (ISR) remains a challenging problem. The currently available options for treatment of ISR include angioplasty alone, repeat stenting with DES or drug-coated balloons. Several recent studies have compared the available options for treating ISR in an attempt to identify the preferred therapeutic strategy. In this review, we will discuss the currently available therapeutic strategies for the management of patients with ISR and the evidence supporting their use.

Second-generation drug-eluting stents versus drug-coated balloons for the treatment of coronary in-stent restenosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

PURPOSE

The benefit of drug-eluting stents (DES) versus drug-coated balloons (DCB) in coronary artery in-stent restenosis (ISR) for the prevention of target lesion revascularization (TLR), stent thrombosis, and mortality remains uncertain. Our aim was to synthesize the available evidence from randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and observational studies that directly compare second-generation drug-eluting stents (SG-DES) and DCB for the treatment of coronary ISR.

METHODS

Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Central were searched for RCTs or observational studies, published up to March 15, 2017. A random effects model meta-analysis investigating clinical and angiographic outcomes was conducted for RCTs and observational studies that compared SG-DES versus DCB for the treatment of ISR.

RESULTS

Ten studies and 2,173 patients were included in this meta-analysis. The two treatment strategies were proven equal with regards to TLR, myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis, and cardiac mortality in both randomized and observational studies. No difference was found among RCTs for all-cause mortality, while in observational studies, patients who were treated with SG-DES had a lower mortality compared to DCB (OR: 0.47; 95% CI: 0.27-0.83). In the pooled analysis also (RCTs and observational studies), SG-DES were associated with lower all-cause mortality compared to DCB. Patients treated with SG-DES were also superior in terms of minimal lumen diameter (standardized mean difference: 0.39; 95% CI: 0.12-0.66).

CONCLUSIONS

The two treatment strategies are equal for the treatment of ISR, while the difference in all-cause mortality might be potentially explained by baseline differences in the two groups among real-world studies.