Angioplasty Using Drug-Coated Balloons in Ostial Vertebral Artery Stenosis

Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty for vertebral artery origin stenosis under the flow-reversal protection using Mo.MA™ Ultra: A technical case report

Background

Vertebral artery origin stenosis (VAOS) is a major cause of ischemic stroke of the posterior circulation. Aggressive medical treatment using dual antiplatelet therapy is the most common treatment approach to symptomatic VAOS; however, the effectiveness of endovascular treatment (EVT) for VAOS has recently been reported. Here, we report a case of VAOS treated with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) under flow reversal protection using Mo.MA™ Ultra.

Case Description

The patient was a 78-year-old man. He underwent mechanical thrombectomy for acute right posterior cerebral artery occlusion, and recanalization was achieved. Subsequently, artery-to-artery (A-to-A) embolism caused by the right VAOS was revealed as the etiology. PTA under the flow-reversal protection using Mo.MA™ Ultra was performed electively, and the VAOS and antegrade flow of the right vertebral artery (VA) improved.

Conclusion

In EVT for symptomatic VAOS, lesion cross for distal protection device placement is considered to create a high risk of distal embolism due to the anatomic and clinicopathological characteristics of VAOS lesions, especially in A-to-A embolism cases. The flow-reversal protection using Mo.MA™ Ultra can be performed with EVT to prevent distal embolism with lesion cross by retrograde flow of the VA. This method is feasible, especially for cases in which antegrade flow to the basilar artery through the developed contralateral VA is anticipated during the Mo.MA™ Ultra protection.

Using drug-coated balloons for symptomatic vertebral artery origin stenosis: A systematic review and meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Endovascular stenting has emerged as an effective treatment for patients with symptomatic vertebral artery origin stenosis (VAOS), but the incidence of severe restenosis is concerning. Angioplasty alone with a drug-coated balloon (DCB) is a potential treatment for VAOS. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the utility of DCB angioplasty for VAOS.

METHODS

A systematic search of the Medline (PubMed), Embase, CNKI, and Cochrane databases for studies on the treatment of VAOS by DCB angioplasty published in English and Chinese before June 15, 2022 was conducted. Data were extracted using standardized methods. The incidence rates of restenosis, technical success, and perioperative complication in the follow-up period were pooled using Freeman-Tukey double arcsine transformation with random or fixed-effect models. Tests for heterogeneity and publication bias were performed.

RESULTS

A total of seven studies containing 159 patients were included in this review and meta-analysis. The pre-treatment stenosis rate of the vertebral artery in the DCB group ranged from 70.0 % to 86.3 %, and the median follow-up time ranged from 6.0 to 14.1 months. The pooled restenosis incidence was 11.9 % (95 % CI: 3.4 %-23.4 %; I² = 59 %, p = 0.02) during the follow-up period. The pooled technical success rate was 96.6 % (95 % CI: 91.4 %-99.7 %; I² = 37 %, p = 0.14). The overall perioperative complication rate was 2.9 % (95 % CI: 0.3 %-6.9 %; I² = 0 %, p = 0.64). According to the funnel diagram and Egger's test, there was no evidence of publication bias.

CONCLUSION

It is suggested in this review and meta-analysis that angioplasty with DCB may be a potential treatment for VAOS. However, randomized studies including a large representative sample of VAOS patients are needed to validate our findings.

A Comparison of Different Endovascular Treatment for Vertebral Artery Origin Stenosis

OBJECTIVE

To compare the safety and efficacy of stenting with drug-eluting stent (DES), stenting with bare mental stent (BMS), and angioplasty alone with drug-coated balloon (DCB) in patients with symptomatic vertebral artery origin stenosis (VAOS) who did not respond to aggressive medical management.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective analysis of consecutive patients with symptomatic VAOS who underwent endovascular treatment between December 2018 and November 2021 at our institution. The main outcome compared were technical success, perioperative complications, residual stenosis, stroke recurrence, progression of residual stenosis, and restenosis.

RESULTS

A total of 46 patients were included: 29 were stented with DES, 12 were stented with BMS, and 5 received angioplasty alone with DCB. Technical success was achieved in 100%, 100%, and 60%, respectively (P = 0.008). Residual stenosis was 10.8%, 20.2%, and 51.2%, respectively (P < 0.001). Perioperative complications occurred only in 1 case in the DES group (P = 1.00). During a mean follow-up of 14.1 months, stroke recurrence rate was 6.9%, 16.7%, and 0% respectively (P = 0.73). Absolute progression of residual stenosis was 10.1%, 34.9%, and -8.0%, respectively (P < 0.001). Restenosis rate was 6.9%, 50.0%, and 20.0%, respectively (P = 0.007).

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with symptomatic VAOS who did not respond to aggressive medical management, stenting with DES shows superiority in the lowering the restenosis rate compared with stenting with BMS. Angioplasty alone with DCB is associated with the slowest progression of stenosis in spite of moderate residual stenosis.

A retrospective study of drug-coated balloon angioplasty for vertebral artery origin stenosis

PURPOSE

Angioplasty using drug-coated balloon (DCB) for treatment of symptomatic vertebral artery origin stenosis (VAOS) is promising, but of uncertain benefit. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and effectiveness of using DCB in the treatment of severe VAOS.

METHODS

This study included 20 patients with severe VAOS treated with DCB alone between April 2018 and December 2019. Vascular death, transient ischemic attack (TIA), and stroke related to the responsible artery within 30 days after procedure were recorded as primary endpoints. Restenosis, late TIA, and stroke related to VAOS and satisfied clinical outcome [modified Rankin Scale (mRS) ≤ 2] were documented at follow-up visit as secondary endpoints.

RESULTS

Of 20 patients, 16 were performed DCB dilation successfully, and 4 were excluded due to further bailout stenting. After the procedure, no adverse event occurred within 30 days. Ten of 16 patients achieved residual VAOS (rVAOS) < 50% (lower rVAOS group), and the remaining 6 patients achieved rVAOS ≥ 50% but < 70% (higher rVAOS group). During follow-up, vertebral artery origin restenosis was detected in 3 (18.8%) of 16 patients by ultrasound. Among the 3 patients with restenosis, 2 were belonged to the higher rVAOS group, which might indicate a tendency that the more severe the residual stenosis, the higher the restenosis rate. All patients had no complaint in the whole follow-up period (median, 7 months; InterQuartile Range, 1-18 months).

CONCLUSIONS

Angioplasty using DCB for VAOS may be feasible, safe, and effective. The degree of residual stenosis after using DCB alone may affect the restenosis rate.

Paclitaxel Coated Balloon vs. Bare Metal Stent for Endovascular Treatment of Symptomatic Vertebral Artery Origin Stenosis Patients: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Stenting treatment for refractory symptomatic patients with vertebral artery origin stenosis (VAOS) is safe; however, there is a high rate of in-stent restenosis. Although drug-eluting stents can reduce the incidence of restenosis to some extent, there is still a risk caused by stent fracture. Drug-coated balloon (DCB) has been proven to reduce the rate of restenosis in peripheral and coronary artery disease. DCB can prevent inflammation caused by extraneous material stimulation and allow the subsequent treatment that is characteristic of "leave nothing behind." The purpose of this trial is to compare the efficacy and safety of DCB and bare metal stent (BMS) in the treatment of VAOS. Method/Design: This trial is a 1:1 randomized, controlled, multicenter, non-inferiority trial that compares the DCB to BMS in terms of angiographically assessed target lesion binary restenosis (≥50%) at 12 months in endovascular treatment of symptomatic patients with VAOS. Discussion: A total of 180 patients with symptomatic VAOS who match the trial eligibility criteria will be randomized 1:1 to treatment with DCB (n = 90) or BMS (n = 90). An angiographic core laboratory-adjudicated target lesion binary restenosis (≥50%) at 12 months of follow-up was selected as primary efficacy endpoint to assess the DCB treatment effect. A clinical events committee will assess the safety endpoints of all-cause death, target vessel related transient ischemic attack and ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke events. A data safety monitoring board will periodically review safety data for subject safety, the study conduct, and progress. In this trial, randomization is only allowed after successful pre-dilatation. We anticipate that this trial will provide rigorous data to clarify whether DCBs are beneficial in patients with symptomatic VAOS. Clinical Trial Registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT03910166.