Abluminal biodegradable polymer biolimus-eluting stent versus durable polymer everolimus-eluting stent (COMPARE II): a randomised, controlled, non-inferiority trial

Coronary stent failure: role of a blended approach with drug-coated balloons for complex lesions

The management of coronary artery disease by means of percutaneous approach have been focused initially to overcome the recoil and acute occlusion after vessel ballooning; therefore, to develop and improve metallic stent platforms, and later drug-eluting technologies. Contemporarily, the necessity emerged to optimize interventional procedures using functional physiologic tests and intravascular imaging guidance, but still stent failures, especially in the complex lesion setting, continue to be not negligible. This comprehensive review is focused on the technology of drug-coated balloons as a tool to treat coronary artery disease without the need for metal implantation but still eluting antirestenotic drugs such as paclitaxel or sirolimus. We delve into these technologies, the drugs, the technical aspects of the deployment and the most updated evidence also proposing a dedicated interventional algorithm. There is solid data to support the use of drug-coated balloons in patients with in-stent restenosis and de-novo small coronary artery disease but also new evidence with promising results from recent studies indicate the feasibility of this approach in complex coronary interventions, bifurcation lesions and larger coronary vessels. In this state-of-the-art review, we also propose a blended approach based on the combination of drug-eluting stents and drug-coated balloons, keeping in mind the necessity to reduce the total stent length in order to reduce the long-term risk of complications.

Revolutionizing Cardiovascular Frontiers: A Dive Into Cutting-Edge Innovations in Coronary Stent Technology

Plain balloon angioplasty was the initial method used to enlarge the intracoronary lumen size. However, it was linked to acute coronary closure due to early vessel recoil. This led to the invention of coronary stents, which offer mechanical support to open and maintain the vascular lumen. Nevertheless, the metallic scaffold introduced other issues, such as thrombosis and restenosis caused by neointimal proliferation. To address these concerns, polymers were employed to cover the scaffold, acting as drug reservoirs and regulators for controlled drug release. The use of polymers prevents direct contact between blood and metallic scaffolds. Drugs within the stent were incorporated to inhibit proliferation and expedite endothelialization in the healing process. Despite these advancements, adverse effects still arise due to the inflammatory reaction caused by the polymer material. Consequently, resorbable polymers and scaffolds were later discovered, but they have limitations and are not universally applicable. Various scaffold designs, thicknesses, materials, polymer components, and drugs have their own advantages and complications. Each stent generation has been designed to address the shortcomings of the preceding generation, yet new challenges continue to emerge. Conflicting data regarding the long-term safety and efficacy of coronary stents, especially in the extended follow-up, further complicates the assessment.

Long-Term Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Outcomes in Chronic Versus Acute Coronary Syndromes (TARGET All Comers Trial)

In the Targeted therapy with a localised abluminal coated, low-dose sirolimus-eluting, biodegreadable polymer coronary stent (TARGET; NCT02520180) All Comers trial the biodegradable polymer (BP) sirolimus-eluting FIREHAWK stent was noninferior to the durable polymer (DP) everolimus-eluting XIENCE stent with respect to target lesion failure (TLF) at 1 and 5 years; however, the long-term safety and efficacy in the setting of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) are not known. We sought to assess the long-term outcomes in ACS versus chronic coronary syndromes (CCS) with BP sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) versus DP everolimus-eluting stent (EES). The TARGET AC study was a multicenter, open-label, noninferiority trial of all comer patients randomly allocated 1:1 to BP SES or DP EES (stratified by ST-elevation myocardial infarction and study site). In this predefined substudy, the outcomes were compared based on clinical presentation (ACS vs CCS) and treatment allocation. A total of 1,653 patients were enrolled (728 with ACS and 922 with CCS), with 94% completing the 5-year follow-up. The baseline characteristics were well-matched between the 2 stent types; however, co-morbidities were more prevalent in the CCS than in the ACS population. TLF (15.5% vs 17.7%, p = 0.24), patient-oriented outcomes (32.0% vs 34.4%, p = 0.31), and stent thrombosis (4.1% vs 3.3%, p = 0.40) were similar between patients with ACS and patients with CCS. In the ACS cohort, the outcomes at 5 years for BP SES versus DP EES were similar for TLF (16.0% vs 14.9%, p = 0.70), ischemia-driven target lesion revascularization (5.6% vs 8.3%, p = 0.17), and definite/probable stent thrombosis (2.7% vs 4.6%, p = 0.18). The same was true for the CCS cohort, with 5-year outcomes for BP SES versus DP EES for TLF (18.0% vs 17.4%, p = 0.82), ischemia-driven target lesion revascularization (6.4% vs 5.0%, p = 0.37), and definite/probable stent thrombosis (3.0% vs 1.8%, p = 0.26). In conclusion, in the TARGET AC trial, 1 in 3 patients had a major adverse event at 5 years, irrespective of CCS or ACS presentation. Long-term, the BP sirolimus-eluting FIREHAWK stent was as safe and effective as the DP everolimus-eluting XIENCE stent across the spectrum of clinical presentations.

Long-term outcomes after coronary intervention with biodegradable polymer stents in patients with acute coronary syndromes

BACKGROUND

Patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) may have worse outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention compared to patients without ACS.

AIMS

To compare 5-year efficacy and safety outcomes in patients with and without ACS treated with biodegradable polymers, the ultrathin strut sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent (O-SES) or the biolimus-eluting Nobori stent (N-BES).

METHODS

The Scandinavian Organisation for Randomized Trials with Clinical Outcome VII is a randomized trial comparing O-SES and N-BES in an all-comer setting. Of 2525 patients, 1329 (53%) patients had ACS and 1196 (47%) patients were without ACS. Endpoints were target lesion failure (TLF) (a composite of cardiac death, target lesion myocardial infarction, or target lesion revascularization) and definite stent thrombosis within 5 years.

RESULTS

At 5-year follow-up, TLF did not differ significantly between patients with and without ACS (12.3% vs. 13.2%; rate ratio (RR) 1.00; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.70-1.44), whereas the risk of definite stent thrombosis was increased in patients with ACS (2.3% vs. 1.3; RR: 2.01 [95% CI: 1.01-3.98]). In patients with ACS, the rate of TLF was similar between O-SES and N-BES (12.4% vs. 12.3%; RR: 1.02; 95% CI: 0.74-1.40). The reduced risk of definite stent thrombosis in O-SES treated ACS patients within the first year (0.2% vs. 1.6%; RR: 0.12; 95% CI: 0.02-0.93) was not maintained after 5 years (1.8% vs. 2.7%; RR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.37-1.63).

CONCLUSION

Patients with ACS had an increased risk of stent thrombosis regardless of the stent type used. Long-term outcomes were similar for ACS patients treated with O-SES or N-BES at 5 years.

Ultrathin, biodegradable polymer-coated everolimus-eluting stents for patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: Final three-year results of the PERFORM-EVER registry

The registry reports 3-year safety and clinical performance of the ultrathin strut (60 μm) biodegradable polymer-coated Tetrilimus, an everolimus-eluting stent (EES) (Sahajanand Medical Technologies Limited, India), in 'real-world' patients with coronary artery disease. A total of 815 Tetrilimus EES were implanted in 735 lesions in 594 patients. At 3-year follow-up, primary endpoint (target lesion failure, TLF) was reported in 8.6 % patients, including 2.6 % cardiac deaths, 3.5 % myocardial infarction and 2.6 % target lesion revascularization. At three-year, no cases of definite stent thrombosis were reported. The final three-year results of PERFORM-EVER registry endorse the continuous safety and effectiveness Tetrilimus EES.

Complementary evidence on the performance of coronary stents generated by a randomized controlled trial and a worldwide registry

BACKGROUND

Large-scale registries can provide valuable complementary data to randomized controlled trials (RCT) for the postmarketing evaluation of coronary stents, but their scientific relevance remains debated.

METHODS

We sought to compare the evidence on the performance of a single coronary stent platform generated by the RCT for its regulatory approval and a well-conducted international registry. Patients treated with the Ultimaster coronary stent in the CENTURY II (CII-UM) trial (n = 551) were compared to patients in the real-world e-ULTIMASTER (e-UM) registry (n = 35,389). All major events were adjudicated by an independent clinical event committee in both studies. Propensity weighted analysis was used to balance baseline and procedural differences between the 2 populations.

RESULTS

Coronary artery disease was more complex in e-UM compared to CII-UM, including more acute coronary syndromes, multivessel disease, left main, arterial, or venous grafts, and chronic total occlusions (P < .005 for all). At one-year follow-up and after excluding periprocedural myocardial infarction (MI) there was no statistically significant difference between CII-UM and e-UM regarding all-cause death (hazard ratio [HR] 0.55, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.26-1.20, P = .14), cardiac death (HR 0.71, 95% CI 0.29-1.72, P = .45), target lesion failure (HR 1.18, 95% CI 0.78-1.78, P = .44), and target vessel MI (HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.24-2.38, P = .63). However, target vessel revascularization rate was significantly higher in CII-UM than in e-UM, HR 1.78, 95% CI 1.23-2.56, P = .002.

CONCLUSIONS

A well-conducted large-scale registry can provide valuable complementary evidence to RCTs on the postmarket performance of new coronary stents, across a wider range of uses and various geographic areas.

Utility of the ACC/AHA Lesion Classification to Predict Outcomes After Contemporary DES Treatment: Individual Patient Data Pooled Analysis From 7 Randomized Trials

Background Use of the modified American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA) lesion classification as a prognostic tool to predict short- and long-term clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention in the modern drug-eluting stent era is uncertain. Methods and Results Patient-level data from 7 prospective, randomized trials were pooled. Clinical outcomes of patients undergoing single lesion percutaneous coronary intervention with second-generation drug-eluting stent were analyzed according to modified ACC/AHA lesion class. The primary end point was target lesion failure (TLF: composite of cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction, or ischemia-driven target lesion revascularization). Clinical outcomes to 5 years were compared between patients treated for noncomplex (class A/B1) versus complex (class B2/C) lesions. Eight thousand five hundred sixteen patients (age 63.1±10.8 years, 70.5% male) were analyzed. Lesions were classified as A, B1, B2, and C in 7.9%, 28.5%, 33.7%, and 30.0% of cases, respectively. Target lesion failure was higher in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention of complex versus noncomplex lesions at 30 days (2.0% versus 1.1%, P=0.004), at 1 year (4.6% versus 3.0%, P=0.0005), and at 5 years (12.4% versus 9.2%, P=0.0001). By multivariable analysis, treatment of ACC/AHA class B2/C lesions was significantly associated with higher rate of 5-year target lesion failure (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.39 [95% CI, 1.17-1.64], P=0.0001) driven by significantly higher rates of target vessel myocardial infarction and ischemia-driven target lesion revascularization. Conclusions In this pooled large-scale analysis, treating complex compared with noncomplex lesions according to the modified ACC/AHA classification with second-generation drug-eluting stent was associated with worse 5-year clinical outcomes. This historical classification system may be useful in the contemporary era for predicting early and late outcomes following percutaneous coronary intervention.

Comparison of biodegradable and durable polymer drug-eluting stents in acute coronary syndrome: a meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

To compare the safety and effectiveness between biodegradable polymer drug-eluting stents (BP-DES) and durable polymer drug-eluting stents (DP-DES) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

DESIGN

Meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs).

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) were considered the primary endpoint. Efficacy endpoints included target vessel revascularisation (TVR) and target lesion revascularisation (TLR). Safety endpoints included all-cause death, cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction and stent thrombosis (ST).

METHODS

We searched PubMed, Medline, Embase and the Cochrane Controlled Register of Trials for comparative studies of BP-DES and DP-DES in patients with ACS from January 2000 to July 2021. Statistical pooling was performed to estimate incidence using a random-effects model with generic inverse-variance weighting. Risk estimates were computed with 95% CIs.

RESULTS

Eight articles with seven RCTs that compared BP-DES and DP-DES in patients with ACS were identified and included in the qualitative and quantitative analyses. There was no difference in the baseline characteristics, except for the number of smoking patients (OR: 1.13, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.24; p=0.008, I²=29%), which was significantly lower in the BP-DES group. The meta-analysis demonstrated that MACEs, efficacy endpoints and safety endpoints were similar between the groups at 1 year. However, the incidence of total ST was significantly different between the BP-DES and DP-DES groups in the follow-up period (p=0.0001). Further analysis showed a statistically significant difference in MACEs (OR: 0.71, 95% CI 0.57 to 0.88; p=0.002, I²=0 %), TLR (OR: 0.71, 95% CI 0.51 to 1.01; p=0.05, I²=0%), TVR (OR: 0.70, 95% CI 0.52 to 0.94; p=0.002, I²=15%), total ST incidence (OR: 0.59, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.77; p=0.0001, I²=48%) and ST incidence (OR: 0.63, 95% CI 0.47 to 0.85; p=0.002, I²=0%) over 2 years.

CONCLUSION

This meta-analysis revealed that both stent types demonstrated excellent safety and efficacy profiles at 12 months. However, a slight increase in MACEs, TLR, TVR and ST incidence was observed in the DP-DES group over the 2-year follow-up period, suggesting that BP-DES may be more favourable when treating patients with ACS.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT00389220.

Safety and efficacy of 48 mm Xience Xpedition everolimus-eluting stent for the treatment of long coronary lesions

INTRODUCTION

Long drug-eluting stents may limit the issue of overlapping multiple stents when treating long coronary lesions.

AIM

The aim of the study was to assess the safety and efficacy of the 48 mm Xience Xpedition everolimus-eluting stent (48mm-EES) for the treatment of long coronary lesions, in an all-comer population.

METHODS

Patients receiving at least one 48mm-EES were prospectively included from March 2014 to December 2018. The primary endpoint was target lesion failure (TLF), defined as a composite of cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction, and clinically driven target lesion revascularization (TLR) at 1 year. The main secondary endpoint was the patient-oriented composite endpoint (POCE) defined as a composite of death, stroke, myocardial infarction, and reintervention.

RESULTS

A total of 268 patients with 276 long coronary lesions, including 94 chronic total occlusions (CTO), were successfully treated using at least one 48mm-EES. The total stent length per lesion was 66 ± 22 mm. A single 48mm-EES was suitable to successfully treat the target lesion in 48% of cases (60% for non-CTO lesions). One-year follow-up rate was 96.3%. TLF occurred in 13 patients (5.3%), mainly driven by TLR (4.1%). Two cardiac death occurred (0.7%). POCE occurred in 30 patients (11.6%) mainly driven by repeat revascularization (9.7%). Definite stent thrombosis was observed in two patients (0.7%). No difference was observed in one-year outcomes between single 48mm-EES and multiple stents implantation as well as between CTO and non-CTO lesions.

CONCLUSION

The 48mm-EES is safe and effective to treat long coronary lesions, including CTOs, and provides attractive cost-effectiveness by limiting multiple stenting.

Long-Term Clinical Outcomes Between Biodegradable and Durable Polymer Drug-Eluting Stents: A Nationwide Cohort Study

Background

Despite the theoretical benefits of biodegradable polymer drug-eluting stents (BP-DES), clinical benefits of BP-DES over durable polymer DES (DP-DES) have not been clearly demonstrated. Using data from a large-volume nationwide cohort, we compared long-term clinical outcomes between BP-DES- and DP-DES-treated patients.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study that enrolled all patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with new-generation DES between 2010 and 2016 in Korea was conducted by using the National Health Insurance Service database. The outcomes of interest were all-cause death, cardiovascular death, and myocardial infarction (MI).

Results

A total of 127,731 patients treated with new-generation DES with thin struts (<90 μm) were enrolled for this analysis. After stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighting, the incidence of all-cause death was significantly lower in patients treated with BP-DES (n = 19,521) at 5 years after PCI (11.3 vs. 13.0% in those treated with DP-DES [n = 108,067], hazard ratio [HR] 0.92, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.88–0.96, p < 0.001), while showing no statistically significant difference at 2 years after PCI (5.7 vs. 6.0%, respectively, HR 0.95, 95% CI, 0.89–1.01, p = 0.238). Similarly, use of BP-DES was associated with a lower incidence of cardiovascular death (7.4 vs. 9.6% in those treated with DP-DES, HR 0.82, 95% CI, 0.77–0.87, p < 0.001), and MI (7.4 vs. 8.7%, respectively, HR 0.90, 95% CI, 0.86–0.94, p = 0.006) at 5 years after PCI. There was no statistically significant difference of cardiovascular death (4.6 vs. 4.9%, respectively, HR 0.93, 95% CI, 0.85–1.01, p = 0.120) and MI (5.0 vs. 5.1%, respectively, HR 0.98, 95% CI, 0.92–1.05, p = 0.461) at 2 years after PCI.

Conclusions

Implantation of BP-DES was associated with a lower risk of all-cause death, cardiovascular death, and MI compared with DP-DES implantation. This difference was clearly apparent at 5 years after DES implantation.

Clinical Trial Registration

ClinicalTrial.gov, NCT04715594.

Comparison of neoatherosclerosis and a clinical outcomes between bioabsorbable versus durable polymer drug-eluting stent: Verification by optical coherence tomography analysis

BACKGROUND

Neoatherosclerosis after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation is known to be related with increased risk of late restenosis and stent thrombosis. Neoatherosclerosis and relevant clinical outcomes between bioabsorbable polymer DES (BP-DES) and second-generation durable polymer DES (DP-DES) were evaluated by optical coherence tomography (OCT) analysis.

METHODS

A total of 311 patients (319 lesions) undergoing OCT analysis after DES implantation were enrolled and divided into two groups according to stent type (BP-DES [150 patients, 153 lesions] and DP-DES [161 patients, 166 lesions]). Follow-up OCT analysis was performed at least 9 months after index stent implantation. Neoatherosclerosis was defined as presence of thin-cap fibroatheroma, calcified plaque, and lipid plaque. Primary endpoint was the incidence of neoatherosclerosis, and the secondary endpoints were the occurrence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE), defined as a composite of death, myocardial infarction, target lesion revascularization, or stent thrombosis and to find independent predictors of neoatherosclerosis.

RESULTS

The incidence of neoatherosclerosis was lower in the BP-DES group than the DP-DES group (5.2% vs. 14.5%, p = 0.008), which was driven by lipid plaque. However, the incidence of MACE did not show statistical difference between the two groups in median 4-year follow-up (3.3% vs. 7.8%, hazard ratio 1.964, 95% confidence interval 0.688-5.611, p = 0.207). Less use of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin II receptor blockade and higher degree of neointimal hyperplasia remained independent predictors of neoatherosclerosis on Cox regression analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients undergoing BP-DES implantation had lower incidence of neoatherosclerosis than DP-DES, which did not reach statistically better clinical outcomes.

Temporal trends in clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention: a systematic review of 66,327 patients from 25 all-comers trials

BACKGROUND

With the improvements of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) technology and post-PCI patient management, several registry studies reported temporal trends in post-PCI clinical outcomes. However, their results are inconclusive, potentially reflecting region-specific trends, based on site-reported events without external validity.

AIMS

This study aimed to investigate temporal trends in post-PCI clinical outcomes in all-comers randomised controlled trials (RCTs) involving coronary stents.

METHODS

We performed a systematic review identifying RCTs comparing a clinical outcome as a primary endpoint among different coronary stents with an all-comers design and independent clinical event adjudication, extracting the study start year, patient baseline characteristics, and one- and five-year clinical outcomes. Temporal trends in clinical outcomes (cardiac death, myocardial infarction [MI], target lesion revascularisation [TLR], stent thrombosis [ST]) were assessed using random-effects meta-regression analyses, estimating the relationship between clinical outcomes and study start year.

RESULTS

Overall, 25 all-comers trials (51 device arms, 66,327 patients) conducted between 2003 and 2018 fulfilled the eligibility criteria. Random-effects meta-regression analysis revealed significant decreasing trends in one- and five-year cardiac death, one-year TLR, and five-year ST incidences (relative risk per 10-year increase: 0.69 [0.51-0.92], 0.66 [0.44-0.98], 0.60 [0.41-0.88], and 0.18 [0.07-0.44], respectively). There was no significant trend in myocardial infarction incidences.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first attempt to clarify and quantify the temporal trends of post-PCI outcome incidence. The 15-year improvements in PCI therapy and post-therapeutic patient management are associated with reduced incidences of cardiac death and PCI-related adverse events.

Drug-eluting stents for the treatment of coronary artery disease: A review of recent advances

INTRODUCTION

Percutaneous coronary intervention is a widely used procedure for the treatment of coronary artery disease to relieve narrowing or occlusion and improve blood supply. Although only balloon angioplasty was performed in the early period, coronary stents were developed later and coronary drug-eluting stents were introduced to decrease in-stent restenosis, which is related to the proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells.

AREAS COVERED

The drug-eluting stents are composed of a metallic or polymeric platform, specific drug, and polymers or coating for drug release. In this article, the recent advances in drug-eluting stent technologies for the treatment of coronary artery disease and adjunctive antiplatelet therapy after drug-eluting stent implantation will be reviewed.

EXPERT OPINION

The need for further advances in drug-eluting stents or fully bioresorbable coronary scaffolds still exists to improve patient survival or clinical outcomes. The use for different actions or of combinations of drugs with several actions can be potential. Technological refinement and progress in manufacturing to improve mechanical integrity are needed, particularly for fully bioresorbable scaffolds. For antiplatelet therapy after stenting, clinical bleeding reduction strategies, such as a shortened duration of dual-antiplatelet therapy, are in progress.

Outcomes of the Novel Supreme Drug-Eluting Stent in Complex Coronary Lesions: A PIONEER III Substudy

Background

The Supreme healing-targeted drug-eluting stent (DES) is designed to promote endothelial healing to reduce stent-related adverse events. This may be particularly relevant among complex lesions that have a higher rate of adverse events. We sought to compare 1-year outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention in complex lesions between the Supreme DES and contemporary durable-polymer, everolimus-eluting stents (DP-EES).

Methods

PIONEER III was a multicenter, prospective, single-blind clinical trial, randomizing 1629 patients with either an acute or chronic coronary syndrome in a 2:1 ratio to the Supreme DES or DP-EES. Complex lesions (American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association type B2/C) were found in 1137 patients. Outcomes were also compared for specific parameters of lesion complexity: severe calcification, long length (>20 ​mm), and severe tortuosity. The primary end point was target lesion failure at 1 ​year.

Results

At 1 ​year, there was no difference in target lesion failure between the Supreme DES and DP-EES: (5.7% vs 5.6%; hazard ratio 1.00, 95% confidence interval 0.59-1.68, P = .99). Similarly, there were no differences in the secondary end points of lesion success (99.7% vs 99.4%, P = .41), device success (97.0% vs 98.5%, P = .14), target vessel failure (6.5% vs 7.4%, P = .50), major adverse cardiac events (7.8% vs 8.5%, P = .64), or stent thrombosis (0.7% vs 1.1%, P = .48). A trend was observed toward a higher rate of target lesion revascularization with the Supreme DES (2.5% vs 0.9%, P = .06).

Conclusions

This study suggests that the Supreme DES is as effective and safe at 1 ​year compared with the standard DP-EES across a broad spectrum of lesion complexity.

Real-World Long-Term Clinical Outcomes of Ultrathin Strut Biodegradable Polymer Drug-Eluting Stents in Korean ST-Segment-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) Patients with or without Acute Heart Failure Undergoing Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Biodegradable polymers (BDPs) and ultrathin struts were recently introduced to drug-eluting stents (DES) to further improve outcomes. In this study, we analyzed and compared the effect of the ultrathin strut BDP-DES (UBDP-DES) with the conventional durable polymer-DES (DP-DES) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). A total of 356 STEMI patients (n = 160 in the UBDP-DES group and n = 196 in the DP-DES group) were enrolled. The primary endpoint was target lesion failure (TLF), including cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction, and ischemic-driven, target lesion revascularization (ID-TLR). The mean age was 60.3 ± 12.7 years (male 81.7%), and the median follow-up duration was 63.8 months. TLF was numerically more frequent in the UBDP-DES group (8.1% vs. 4.1%; HR 2.14; 95% CI 0.89-5.18; p = 0.091). Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to balance discrepancies in the baseline characteristics due to patients in the UBDP-DES group initially having more unstable vital signs. However, after PSM (n = 116 in each group), there was no significant difference in TLF (5.3% vs. 5.3%; HR 1.04, 95% CI 0.34-3.22; p = 0.947) or other secondary endpoints including ID-TLR. In the subgroup analysis, subjects with initial acute heart failure (AHF), defined as Killip class ≥ 3, were associated with 13.6% chance of 30-day mortality (9-fold of those without AHF), although chances of repeat revascularization were low (3.0%). Among patients with AHF, the UBDP-DES group was associated with a numerically higher chance of TLF compared with the DP-DES group. There was no difference in TLF between groups in patients without AHF. This study showed that UBDP-DES has long-term clinical outcomes similar to those of conventional DP-DES in real-world Korean STEMI patients receiving PPCI, especially in those without initial AHF.

Stent Selection for Primary Angioplasty and Outcomes in the Era of Potent Antiplatelets. Data from the Multicenter Randomized Prague-18 Trial

Drug-eluting stents (DES) are the recommended stents for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This study aimed to determine why interventional cardiologists used non-DES and how it influenced patient prognoses. The efficacy and safety outcomes of the different stents were also compared in patients treated with either prasugrel or ticagrelor. Of the PRAGUE-18 study patients, 749 (67.4%) were treated with DES, 296 (26.6%) with bare-metal stents (BMS), and 66 (5.9%) with bioabsorbable vascular scaffold/stents (BVS) between 2013 and 2016. Cardiogenic shock at presentation, left main coronary artery disease, especially as the culprit lesion, and right coronary artery stenosis were the reasons for selecting a BMS. The incidence of the primary composite net-clinical endpoint (EP) (death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, stroke, serious bleeding, or revascularization) at seven days was 2.5% vs. 6.3% and 3.0% in the DES, vs. with BMS and BVS, respectively (HR 2.7; 95% CI 1.419–5.15, p = 0.002 for BMS vs. DES and 1.25 (0.29–5.39) p = 0.76 for BVS vs. DES). Patients with BMS were at higher risk of death at 30 days (HR 2.20; 95% CI 1.01–4.76; for BMS vs. DES, p = 0.045) and at one year (HR 2.1; 95% CI 1.19–3.69; p = 0.01); they also had a higher composite of cardiac death, reinfarction, and stroke (HR 1.66; 95% CI 1.0–2.74; p = 0.047) at one year. BMS were associated with a significantly higher rate of primary EP whether treated with prasugrel or ticagrelor. In conclusion, patients with the highest initial risk profile were preferably treated with BMS over BVS. BMS were associated with a significantly higher rate of cardiovascular events whether treated with prasugrel or ticagrelor.

A randomised comparison of coronary stents according to short or prolonged durations of dual antiplatelet therapy in patients with acute coronary syndromes: a pre-specified analysis of the SMART-DATE trial

BACKGROUND

Data on direct comparison between various drug-eluting stents with short duration dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) are limited, especially in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

AIMS

We sought to compare biodegradable polymer biolimus-eluting stents (BP-BES) with durable polymer everolimus-eluting (DP-EES) and zotarolimus-eluting stents (DP-ZES) in patients with ACS according to different durations of DAPT.

METHODS

In the SMART-DATE trial, 2,712 patients with ACS underwent randomisation for allocation of DAPT (6 months [n=1,357] or 12 months or longer [n=1,355]) and type of stent (BP-BES [n=901]), DP-EES [n=904], or DP-ZES [n=907]). The primary endpoint was a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, or stent thrombosis.

RESULTS

At 18 months, the primary endpoint was attained by 2.6% with BP-BES, 2.0% with DP-EES, and 2.1% with DP-ZES (HR 1.29, 95% CI: 0.70-2.39, p=0.42 for BP-BES vs DP-EES and HR 1.23, 95% CI: 0.67-2.26, p=0.50 for BP-BES vs DP-ZES). The treatment effect of BP-BES for the primary endpoint was consistent among patients receiving 6-month DAPT as well as those receiving 12-month or longer DAPT (BP-BES vs. DP-EES, pinteraction=0.48 and BP-BES vs DP-ZES, pinteraction=0.87). After excluding 179 patients (101 in the BP-BES group) who did not receive allocated DES, the per-protocol analysis showed similar results.

CONCLUSIONS

The risk of a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, or stent thrombosis was not significantly different between patients receiving BP-BES versus DP-EES or DP-ZES across a short or prolonged duration of DAPT after ACS.

Thin- versus thick-strut polymer-free biolimus-eluting stents: the BioFreedom QCA randomised trial

BACKGROUND

The BioFreedom drug-coated stent with a stainless steel platform (BF-SS) has been demonstrated to be efficacious in patients at high bleeding risk and receiv-ing only one-month dual antiplatelet therapy.

AIMS

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the new BioFreedom Ultra drug-coated stent with a thin-strut cobalt-chromium platform (BF-CoCr) compared to the BF-SS in an all-comers population undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

METHODS

This was a prospective, multicentre, non-inferiority trial. The primary endpoint was in-stent late lumen loss (LLL) as determined by quantitative coronary angiography at nine-month follow-up. Clinical evaluation was performed at one year.

RESULTS

A total of 200 patients were randomised (1:1) to either the BF-CoCr or the BF-SS stent at eight centres in Spain and Denmark. Baseline clinical and lesion characteristics were similar between the groups. Mean age was 66 years and 23% were female. The mean number of stents implanted per patient was 1.5. At nine-month follow-up, mean in-stent LLL was 0.34±0.49 mm in the BF-CoCr group versus 0.29±0.37 mm in the BF-SS group, p=0.005 for non-inferiority. At one year, target lesion failure was similar between the groups (7.3% in BF-CoCr vs 9.3% in the BF-SS group; p=0.60).

CONCLUSIONS

The BF-CoCr was non-inferior to the BF-SS in terms of in-stent LLL at nine months. Larger studies powered for clinical endpoints are warranted to compare the efficacy of this new platform with currently available DES.

Parametric Optimization of 3D Printed Hydrogel-Based Cardiovascular Stent

PURPOSE

This study aimed to develop personalized biodegradable stent (BDS) for the treatment of coronary heart disease. Three-dimensional (3D) printing technique has offered easy and fast fabrication of BDS with enhanced reproducibility and efficacy.

METHODS

A variety of BDS were printed with 3 types of hydrogel (~5 ml) resources (10%w/v sodium alginate (SA), 10%w/v cysteine-sodium alginate (SA-CYS), and 10%w/v cysteine-sodium alginate with 0.4%w/v PLA-nanofibers (SA-CYS-NF)) dispersed from an 22G print head nozzle attached to the BD-syringe. The printability of hydrogels into 3D structures was examined based on such variables as hydrogel's viscosity, printing distance, printing speed and the nozzle size.

RESULTS

It was demonstrated that alginate composition (10%w/v) offered BDS with sufficient viscosity that defined the thickness and swelling ratio of the stent struts. The thickness of the strut was found to be 338.7 ± 29.3 μm, 262.5 ± 14.7 μm and 237.1 ± 14.7 μm for stents made of SA, SA-CYS and SA-CYS-NF, respectively. SA-CYS-NF stent displayed the highest swelling ratio of 38.8 ± 2.9% at the initial 30 min, whereas stents made of SA and SA-CYS had 23.1 ± 2.4% and 22.0 ± 2.4%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The printed stents had sufficient mechanical strength and were stable against pseudo-physiological wall shear stress. An addition of nanofibers to alginate hydrogel significantly enhanced the biodegradation rates of the stents. In vitro cell culture studies revealed that stents had no cytotoxic effects on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and Raw 264.7 cells (i.e., Monocyte/macrophage-like cells), supporting that stents are biocompatible and can be explored for future clinical applications.

Second generation drug-eluting stents: a focus on safety and efficacy of current devices

Introduction: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) represents the most frequent procedure performed in medicine. Second generation drug eluting stents (DES) have been developed to reduce the rates of late and very late complications of first generation DES.Areas covered: To improve long-term efficacy and safety of patients undergoing PCI, second generation DES have been developed with novel stent platforms, biocompatible durable and biodegradable polymers and newer antiproliferative agents. In this review we provide an overview of second generation DES and their clinical trials, discussing safety and effectiveness of these devices, and outlining clinical indication for use.Expert commentary: Numerous clinical trials have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of second generation DES over the last decade. These devices represent the gold standard treatment in stable and acute coronary syndromes.

The Use of Bioactive Polymers for Intervention and Tissue Engineering: The New Frontier for Cardiovascular Therapy

Coronary heart disease remains one of the leading causes of death in most countries. Healthcare improvements have seen a shift in the presentation of disease with a reducing number of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarctions (STEMIs), largely due to earlier reperfusion strategies such as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Stents have revolutionized the care of these patients, but the long-term effects of these devices have been brought to the fore. The conceptual and technologic evolution of these devices from bare-metal stents led to the creation and wide application of drug-eluting stents; further research introduced the idea of polymer-based resorbable stents. We look at the evolution of stents and the multiple advantages and disadvantages offered by each of the different polymers used to make stents in order to identify what the stent of the future may consist of whilst highlighting properties that are beneficial to the patient alongside the role of the surgeon, the cardiologist, engineers, chemists, and biophysicists in creating the ideal stent.

Safety of 3-Month Dual Antiplatelet Therapy After Implantation of Ultrathin Sirolimus-Eluting Stents With Biodegradable Polymer (Orsiro): Results From the SMART-CHOICE Trial

Background

This study sought to investigate the safety of 3‐month dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) in patients receiving ultrathin sirolimus‐eluting stents with biodegradable polymer (Orsiro).

Methods and Results

The SMART‐CHOICE (Smart Angioplasty Research Team: Comparison Between P2Y12 Antagonist Monotherapy vs Dual Anti‐ platelet Therapy in Patients Undergoing Implantation of Coronary Drug‐Eluting Stents) randomized trial compared 3‐month DAPT followed by P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy with 12‐month DAPT in 2993 patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. The present analysis was a prespecified subgroup analysis for patients receiving Orsiro stents. As a post hoc analysis, comparisons between Orsiro and everolimus‐eluting stents were also done among patients receiving 3‐month DAPT. Of 972 patients receiving Orsiro stents, 481 patients were randomly assigned to 3‐month DAPT and 491 to 12‐month DAPT. At 12 months, the target vessel failure, defined as a composite of cardiac death, target vessel–related myocardial infarction, or target vessel revascularization, occurred in 8 patients (1.7%) in the 3‐month DAPT group and in 14 patients (2.9%) in the 12‐month DAPT group (hazard ratio [HR], 0.58; 95% CI, 0.24–1.39; P=0.22). In whole population who were randomly assigned to receive 3‐month DAPT (n=1495), there was no significant difference in the target vessel failure between the Orsiro group and the everolimus‐eluting stent group (n=1014) (1.7% versus 1.8%; HR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.41–2.22; P=0.92).

Conclusions

In patients receiving Orsiro stents, clinical outcomes at 1 year were similar between the 3‐month DAPT followed by P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy and 12‐month DAPT strategies. With 3‐month DAPT, there was no significant difference in target vessel failure between Orsiro and everolimus‐eluting stents.

Registration

URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT02079194.

Twelve-month clinical outcomes of sirolimus-eluting stent in coronary artery disease: An experience in real-world Indian patients

Objective:

Supraflex (Sahajanand Medical Technologies Pvt. Ltd, Surat, India) is the latest generation of biodegradable polymer-coated sirolimus-eluting coronary stent designed on ultra-thin (60 µm) cobalt–chromium platform with flexible “S-link.” The present study was designed to establish the safety and clinical performance of Supraflex in real-world Indian patients with coronary artery disease.

Methods:

The study included 839 consecutive patients with coronary artery disease who were implanted with Supraflex from January 2014 to August 2017 at six different tertiary care centers in India. Follow-up was performed at 30 days, 6 months, and 12 months after the index procedure. The primary end-point of the study was the incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE), a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI), and target lesion revascularization (TLR) at the 12-month follow-up. The occurrence of stent thrombosis was analyzed as safety end-point.

Results:

A total of 1025 lesions were treated by implantation of 1098 Supraflex stents. At the 12-month follow-up, MACE was 4.92%, including 7 (0.86%) cardiac deaths, 16 (1.97%) MI, and 17 (2.09%) TLR. Only three incidences of stent thrombosis were found at the 12-month follow-up.

Conclusion:

The study results showed excellent safety and clinical effectiveness of Supraflex in a high proportion of high-risk real-world Indian patients with coronary artery disease. (Anatol J Cardiol 2020; 24: 364-9)

Durable Polymer Versus Biodegradable Polymer Drug-Eluting Stents After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome: The HOST-REDUCE-POLYTECH-ACS Trial

BACKGROUND

Large-scale randomized comparison of drug-eluting stents (DES) based on durable polymer versus biodegradable polymer technology is currently insufficient in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The present study aimed to prove the noninferiority of the durable polymer DES (DP-DES) compared with the biodegradable polymer DES (BP-DES) in such patients.

METHODS

The HOST-REDUCE-POLYTECH-ACS (Harmonizing Optimal Strategy for Treatment of Coronary Artery Diseases-Comparison of Reduction of Prasugrel Dose or Polymer Technology in ACS Patients) trial is an investigator-initiated, randomized, open-label, adjudicator-blinded, multicenter, noninferiority trial comparing the efficacy and safety of DP-DES and BP-DES in patients with ACS. The primary end point was a patient-oriented composite outcome (a composite of all-cause death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and any repeat revascularization) at 12 months. The key secondary end point was device-oriented composite outcome (a composite of cardiac death, target-vessel myocardial infarction, or target lesion revascularization) at 12 months.

RESULTS

A total of 3413 patients were randomized to receive the DP-DES (1713 patients) and BP-DES (1700 patients). At 12 months, patient-oriented composite outcome occurred in 5.2% in the DP-DES group and 6.4% in the BP-DES group (absolute risk difference, -1.2%; P_{noninferiority}<0.001). The key secondary end point, device-oriented composite outcome, occurred less frequently in the DP-DES group (DP-DES vs BP-DES, 2.6% vs 3.9%; hazard ratio, 0.67 [95% CI, 0.46-0.98]; P=0.038), mostly because of a reduction in target lesion revascularization. The rate of spontaneous nonfatal myocardial infarction and stent thrombosis were extremely low, with no significant difference between the 2 groups (0.6% versus 0.8%; P=0.513 and 0.1% versus 0.4%; P=0.174, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

In ACS patients receiving percutaneous coronary intervention, DP-DES was noninferior to BP-DES with regard to patient-oriented composite outcomes at 12 months after index percutaneous coronary intervention. Registration: URL: https://wwwclinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT02193971.

Long term survival and local control outcomes from single dose targeted intraoperative radiotherapy during lumpectomy (TARGIT-IORT) for early breast cancer: TARGIT-A randomised clinical trial

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether risk adapted intraoperative radiotherapy, delivered as a single dose during lumpectomy, can effectively replace postoperative whole breast external beam radiotherapy for early breast cancer.

DESIGN

Prospective, open label, randomised controlled clinical trial.

SETTING

32 centres in 10 countries in the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, the United States, and Canada.

PARTICIPANTS

2298 women aged 45 years and older with invasive ductal carcinoma up to 3.5 cm in size, cN0-N1, eligible for breast conservation and randomised before lumpectomy (1:1 ratio, blocks stratified by centre) to either risk adapted targeted intraoperative radiotherapy (TARGIT-IORT) or external beam radiotherapy (EBRT).

INTERVENTIONS

Random allocation was to the EBRT arm, which consisted of a standard daily fractionated course (three to six weeks) of whole breast radiotherapy, or the TARGIT-IORT arm. TARGIT-IORT was given immediately after lumpectomy under the same anaesthetic and was the only radiotherapy for most patients (around 80%). TARGIT-IORT was supplemented by EBRT when postoperative histopathology found unsuspected higher risk factors (around 20% of patients).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Non-inferiority with a margin of 2.5% for the absolute difference between the five year local recurrence rates of the two arms, and long term survival outcomes.

RESULTS

Between 24 March 2000 and 25 June 2012, 1140 patients were randomised to TARGIT-IORT and 1158 to EBRT. TARGIT-IORT was non-inferior to EBRT: the local recurrence risk at five year complete follow-up was 2.11% for TARGIT-IORT compared with 0.95% for EBRT (difference 1.16%, 90% confidence interval 0.32 to 1.99). In the first five years, 13 additional local recurrences were reported (24/1140 v 11/1158) but 14 fewer deaths (42/1140 v 56/1158) for TARGIT-IORT compared with EBRT. With long term follow-up (median 8.6 years, maximum 18.90 years, interquartile range 7.0-10.6) no statistically significant difference was found for local recurrence-free survival (hazard ratio 1.13, 95% confidence interval 0.91 to 1.41, P=0.28), mastectomy-free survival (0.96, 0.78 to 1.19, P=0.74), distant disease-free survival (0.88, 0.69 to 1.12, P=0.30), overall survival (0.82, 0.63 to 1.05, P=0.13), and breast cancer mortality (1.12, 0.78 to 1.60, P=0.54). Mortality from other causes was significantly lower (0.59, 0.40 to 0.86, P=0.005).

CONCLUSION

For patients with early breast cancer who met our trial selection criteria, risk adapted immediate single dose TARGIT-IORT during lumpectomy was an effective alternative to EBRT, with comparable long term efficacy for cancer control and lower non-breast cancer mortality. TARGIT-IORT should be discussed with eligible patients when breast conserving surgery is planned.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ISRCTN34086741, NCT00983684.

The 2010s in clinical drug-eluting stent and bioresorbable scaffold research: a Dutch perspective

Dutch researchers were among the first to perform clinical studies in bare metal coronary stents, the use of which was initially limited by a high incidence of in-stent restenosis. This problem was greatly solved by the introduction of drug-eluting stents (DES). Nevertheless, enthusiasm about first-generation DES was subdued by discussions about a higher risk of very-late stent thrombosis and mortality, which stimulated the development, refinement, and rapid adoption of new DES with more biocompatible durable polymer coatings, biodegradable polymer coatings, or no coating at all. In terms of clinical DES research, the 2010s were characterised by numerous large-scale randomised trials in all-comers and patients with minimal exclusion criteria. Bioresorbable scaffolds (BRS) were developed and investigated. The Igaki-Tamai scaffold without drug elution was clinically tested in the Netherlands in 1999, followed by an everolimus-eluting BRS (Absorb) which showed favourable imaging and clinical results. Afterwards, multiple clinical trials comparing Absorb and its metallic counterpart were performed, revealing an increased rate of scaffold thrombosis during follow-up. Based on these studies, the commercialisation of the device was subsequently halted. Novel technologies are being developed to overcome shortcomings of first-generation BRS. In this narrative review, we look back on numerous devices and on the DES and BRS trials reported by Dutch researchers.

Effect of Delayed Targeted Intraoperative Radiotherapy vs Whole-Breast Radiotherapy on Local Recurrence and Survival: Long-term Results From the TARGIT-A Randomized Clinical Trial in Early Breast Cancer

Importance

Conventional adjuvant radiotherapy for breast cancer given daily for several weeks is onerous and expensive. Some patients may be obliged to choose a mastectomy instead, and some may forgo radiotherapy altogether. We proposed a clinical trial to test whether radiotherapy could be safely limited to the tumor bed.

Objective

To determine whether delayed second-procedure targeted intraoperative radiotherapy (TARGIT-IORT) is noninferior to whole-breast external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) in terms of local control.

Design, Setting, and Participants

In this prospective, randomized (1:1 ratio) noninferiority trial, 1153 patients aged 45 years or older with invasive ductal breast carcinoma smaller than 3.5 cm treated with breast conservation were enrolled from 28 centers in 9 countries. Data were locked in on July 3, 2019.

Interventions

The TARGIT-A trial was started in March 2000; patients were randomized after needle biopsy to receive TARGIT-IORT immediately after lumpectomy under the same anesthetic vs EBRT and results have been shown to be noninferior. A parallel study, described in this article, was initiated in 2004; patients who had their cancer excised were randomly allocated using separate randomization tables to receive EBRT or delayed TARGIT-IORT given as a second procedure by reopening the lumpectomy wound.

Main Outcomes and Measures

A noninferiority margin for local recurrence rate of 2.5% at 5 years, and long-term survival outcomes.

Results

Overall, 581 women (mean [SD] age, 63 [7] years) were randomized to delayed TARGIT-IORT and 572 patients (mean [SD] age, 63 [8] years) were randomized to EBRT. Sixty patients (5%) had tumors larger than 2 cm, or had positive nodes and only 32 (2.7%) were younger than 50 years. Delayed TARGIT-IORT was not noninferior to EBRT. The local recurrence rates at 5-year complete follow-up were: delayed TARGIT-IORT vs EBRT (23/581 [3.96%] vs 6/572 [1.05%], respectively; difference, 2.91%; upper 90% CI, 4.4%). With long-term follow-up (median [IQR], 9.0 [7.5-10.5] years), there was no statistically significant difference in local recurrence-free survival (HR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.57-1.003; P = .052), mastectomy-free survival (HR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.65-1.18; P = .38), distant disease-free survival (HR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.72-1.39; P = .98), or overall survival (HR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.68-1.35; P = .80).

Conclusions and Relevance

These long-term data show that despite an increase in the number of local recurrences with delayed TARGIT-IORT, there was no statistically significant decrease in mastectomy-free survival, distant disease-free survival, or overall survival.

Trial Registration

ISRCTN34086741, ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00983684.

Randomized Comparison of the Polymer-Free Biolimus-Coated BioFreedom Stent With the Ultrathin Strut Biodegradable Polymer Sirolimus-Eluting Orsiro Stent in an All-Comers Population Treated With Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Background:

In patients with increased bleeding risk, the biolimus A9-coated BioFreedom stent, a stainless steel drug-coated stent free from polymer, has shown superiority compared with a bare-metal stent. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the BioFreedom stent is noninferior to a modern ultrathin strut biodegradable polymer cobalt-chromium sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent in an all-comers patient population treated with percutaneous coronary intervention.

Methods:

The SORT OUT IX trial (Scandinavian Organization for Randomized Trials With Clinical Outcome IX), was a large-scale, registry-based, randomized, multicenter, single-blind, 2-arm, noninferiority trial. The primary end point, major adverse cardiovascular events, was defined as the composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction not related to any segment other than the target lesion, or target lesion revascularization within 1 year, analyzed by intention-to-treat. The trial was powered to assess noninferiority for major adverse cardiovascular events of the BioFreedom stent compared with the Orsiro stent with a predetermined noninferiority margin of 0.021.

Results:

Between December 14, 2015 and April 21, 2017, 3151 patients were assigned to treatment with the BioFreedom stent (1572 patients, 1966 lesions) or to the Orsiro stent (1579 patients, 1985 lesions). Five patients were lost to follow-up because of emigration (99.9% follow-up rate). Mean age was 66.3±10.9, diabetes mellitus was seen in 19.3% of patients, and 53% of the patients had acute coronary syndromes. At 1 year, intention-to-treat analysis showed that 79 (5.0%) patients, who were assigned the BioFreedom stent, and 59 (3.7%), who were assigned the Orsiro stent, met the primary end point (absolute risk difference 1.29% [upper limit of one-sided 95% CI 2.50%]; P noni nferiority =0.14). Significantly more patients in the BioFreedom stent group had target lesion revascularization than those in the Orsiro stent group (55 [3.5%] vs 20 [1.3%], rate ratio 2.77 [95% CI, 1.66–4.62]; P <0.0001).

Conclusions:

The biolimus A9-coated BioFreedom polymer-free stent did not meet criteria for noninferiority for major adverse cardiovascular events at 12 months when compared with the ultrathin strut biodegradable polymer sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent in an all-comers population

Registration:

URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT02623140.

Comparison of Contemporary Drug-eluting Coronary Stents - Is Any Stent Better than the Others?

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with implantation of a metallic drug-eluting stent (DES) is the mainstay of treatment in patients with significant coronary artery disease or acute coronary syndromes. DESs comprise a metallic platform and an anti-proliferative drug, usually released from a polymer coating. A wide range of DESs, differing in platform, polymer or drug, are currently available for clinical use. Although there are significant differences in the physical, biological and pharmacological properties of contemporary DESs, it remains unclear whether these impact meaningfully on clinical outcomes for patients undergoing PCI. Numerous randomised clinical trials have compared DESs in recent years, but these trials are typically designed to show non-inferiority, rather than superiority. Data from meta-analyses have helped to study this in larger populations, but have limitations. Improvement in stent design continues and ongoing work is exploring the effects of new innovations as well as gathering further data on existing devices. This review explores the development, properties and clinical efficacy of current-generation DESs, comparing different types where possible, whilst identifying areas of further work.

Safety and Performance of the Orsiro Sirolimus-Eluting Stent in the Treatment of All-Comers Patient Population in Daily Clinical Practice

BACKGROUND

The BIOFLOW-III Canada registry aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Orsiro sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) with biodegradable polymer, in an all-comers patient population.

METHODS

We conducted a prospective, non-randomized, multi-center, observational all-comers registry of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with Orsiro SES at two high-volume Canadian centers. The primary endpoint was one-year target lesion failure (TLF) defined as a composite of cardiac death, target-vessel myocardial infarction (MI), coronary artery bypass grafting and clinically driven target lesion revascularization. Four subgroups were pre-defined: i) diabetic patients; ii) small vessels (≤2.75 mm); iii) chronic total occlusions (CTO) and iv) acute MI.

RESULTS

From May 2014 to July 2016, 250 patients (mean age 66.2 ± 10.8 years, 75.6% males, 30% diabetes) underwent PCI with Orsiro SES for 385 coronary lesions. The mean stent diameter was 2.98 ± 0.50 mm and the mean stent length was 22 ± 8 mm. Clinical device and procedural success rates were with 99.5% and 97.6%, respectively. The overall one-year TLF rate was 2.8% [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.4-5.8%], whereas TLF rates were 4.1% [95%CI 1.3-12.2%], 3.2% [95%CI 1.2-8.4%], 8.3% [95%CI 2.2-29.4%], and 2.6% [95%CI 0.7-9.9%] in patients with diabetes, small vessels, CTO, and acute MI, respectively. One case of possible stent thrombosis (ST) was reported (0.4% [95%CI 0.1-2.8%]), while no cases of definite/probable ST was observed at one year.

CONCLUSION

Our data provide further evidence of the safety and clinical performance of Orsiro SES in an unselected, real-world, complex patient population.

CONDENSED ABSTRACT

The BIOFLOW-III Canada registry is a prospective, non-randomized, multi-center, observational all-comers registry designed to evaluate the safety and performance of the Orsiro SES in non-selected, real-world patients. A total of 250 patients (mean age 66.2 ± 10.8 years, 75.6% males, 30% diabetes) who underwent PCI with Orsiro SES, were enrolled at two high-volume Canadian centers. The overall rate of TLF at one year was 2.8% [95%CI 1.4-5.8%], whereas TLF rates were 4.1%, 3.2%, 8.3%, and 2.6% in patients with diabetes, small vessels ≤2.75 mm, CTO, and acute MI, respectively. No case of definite/probable ST was observed.

Safety and Efficacy of Second-Generation Drug-Eluting Stents in Real-World Practice: Insights from the Multicenter Grand-DES Registry

Objective

In this study, we sought to compare the efficacy and safety of the Xience Prime/Xience V/Promus EES and Biomatrix/Biomatrix Flex/Nobori BES with resolute integrity/resolute ZES using the grand drug-eluting stent (Grand-DES) registry.

Background

Currently, new-generation drug-eluting stents (DESs) are used as the standard of care in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. No study has simultaneously compared everolimus-eluting stent (EES), biolimus-eluting stent (BES), and zotarolimus-eluting stent (ZES).

Methods

Stent-related composite outcomes (target lesion failure) and patient-related composite outcomes were compared in crude and propensity score-matched analysis.

Results

Of the 17,286 patients in the Grand-DES group, 5,137, 2,970, and 4,990 patients in the EES, BES, and ZES groups completed a three-year follow-up. In the propensity score-matched cohort, the stent-related outcome (EES vs. BES vs. ZES; 5.9% vs. 6.7% vs. 7.1%, P = 0.226) and patient-related outcomes (12.7% vs. 13.5% vs. 14.3%, P = 0.226) and patient-related outcomes (12.7% vs. 13.5% vs. 14.3%, P = 0.226) and patient-related outcomes (12.7% vs. 13.5% vs. 14.3%, P = 0.226) and patient-related outcomes (12.7% vs. 13.5% vs. 14.3%.

Conclusions

In this robust real-world registry with unrestricted use of EES, BES, and ZES, the three stent groups showed comparable safety and efficacy at the 3-year follow-up.

Three-year follow up of biodegradable polymer cobalt-chromium sirolimus-eluting stent (EXCROSSAL) in treating de novo coronary artery disease: Pooled analysis of CREDIT II and CREDIT III trials

OBJECTIVES

To analyze the 3-year outcomes of the biodegradable polymer cobalt-chromium sirolimus-eluting stent (EXCROSSAL) in CREDIT II AND III TRIALS.

BACKGROUND

Though approved by CFDA, the long-term safety and efficacy of EXCROSSAL is still unknown.

METHODS

CREDIT II was a randomized trial comparing the EXCROSSAL versus EXCEL stents in patients with up to two de novo coronary lesions, and CREDIT III was a prospective, single-arm study evaluating the efficacy and safety of EXCROSSAL in broad types of de novo coronary artery lesions. We pooled the 3-year follow-up data of the EXCROSSAL arm of the CREDIT II and CREDIT III Trials. The primary outcome was 3-year target lesion failure (TLF), a composite of cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction (TV-MI), and clinically indicated target lesion revascularization (CI-TLR). The patient-oriented composite endpoint (PoCE) (all-cause death, all MI, or any revascularization) and stent thrombosis (ST) were also analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 833 patients were included in this study. The incidence of TLF and PoCE in the 3-year follow-up were 7.6% and 12.5%, respectively. ST occurred in 0.6% of patients. In the subgroup analyses, TLF was significantly higher in small target vessels, multi-lesion PCI, and multi-vessel disease.

CONCLUSIONS

The 3-year follow-up analysis confirmed low rates of TLF and ST in EXCROSSAL, which is similar to the most widely used new generation durable polymer drug-eluting stent.

Ultrathin (60 μm), ultralong (≥40 mm) sirolimus-eluting stent: study of clinical and safety profiles among real-world patients

OBJECTIVE

Although thin-strut drug-eluting stents (DES) with a more flexible design are easily obtainable, data regarding using ultralong DES (≥40 mm) for long coronary lesions are limited in the literature. Therefore, the current study assessed the safety and efficacy of an ultralong (≥40 mm) and ultrathin (60 μm) biodegradable polymer-coated sirolimus-eluting stent (SES), Supralimus Grace, with a unique Long Dual Z-link (LDZ-link) design (Sahajanand Medical Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Surat, India) in real-world patients with long coronary lesions.

METHODS

The assigned stents were implanted in 684 patients. The primary endpoint was target lesion failure (TLF), which is a composite of cardiovascular death, target vessel myocardial infarction (MI), and target lesion revascularization (TLR), whereas periprocedural secondary endpoints included device failure (failure of stent delivery, change of stent, and stent fracture) and patient-oriented composite endpoint (POCE), which is a composite of all deaths, any MI, and any revascularization, and stent thrombosis (ST). These outcomes were analyzed at one-year follow-up and during the procedure.

RESULTS

The patients' mean age was 52.7±15.9 years; 537 (78.5%) were males. 626 (91.5%) patients suffered from acute coronary syndrome and 58 (8.5%) patients from chronic coronary syndrome (CSS). 989 lesions were removed. The mean numbers of lesions and stents implanted per patient were 1.3±0.2 mm and 1.4±0.3 mm, respectively. TLF occurred in 42 (6.1%) as a result of cardiac death, target vessel MI, and TLR in 9 (1.3%), 20 (2.9%), and 13 (1.9%) patients, respectively. POCE was observed in 131 patients (19.1%) at one-year follow-up, mainly in 63 (9.2%) patients because of any revascularization. Stent failure was seen in 21 patients (3.1%) as a result of delivery failure (2.2%), edge dissection (0.8%), and fracture (0.1%). Definite and probable ST were observed in 8 (1.1%) and 9 (1.3%) patients, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Ultralong (≥40 mm), ultrathin (60 μm) Supralimus Grace stent can be safely implanted in vessels having long and multiple lesions.

Subgroup Analysis Comparing Ultrathin, Bioresorbable Polymer Sirolimus-Eluting Stents Versus Thin, Durable Polymer Everolimus-Eluting Stents in Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients

BACKGROUND

Presentation with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) constitutes a high-risk subset of patients with worse outcome after percutaneous coronary intervention. We report clinical outcomes in subjects with ACS from the BIOFLOW V trial (BIOTRONIK - A Prospective Randomized Multicenter Study to Assess the Safety and Effectiveness of the Orsiro Sirolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System in the Treatment of Subjects With up to Three De Novo or Restenotic Coronary Artery Lesions) comparing an ultrathin strut (60 μm) bioresorbable polymer sirolimus-eluting stent (BP-SES) with a thin strut (81 μm) durable polymer everolimus-eluting stent (DP-EES).

METHODS AND RESULTS

Among 1334 patients randomized to 2:1 treatment with either BP-SES or DP-EES, 677 (50.7%) ACS patients without ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (MI; 454 BP-SES and 223 DP-EES) were identified in the retrospective post hoc analysis. The primary end point of 12-month target lesion failure, individual component end points, and stent thrombosis were evaluated. Recurrent MI was defined as a ≥50% increase of creatine kinase-myocardial band or in the absence of creatine kinase-myocardial band, troponin >50% increase over previous level and >3× the upper limit of normal). All events were adjudicated by a blinded independent clinical events committee. Overall, baseline clinical, angiographic, and procedural characteristics of the ACS population were similar between the 2 treatment groups. At 12 months, target lesion failure occurred in 5.6% (24/426) of BP-SES patients versus 11.0% (23/209) in DP-EES patients ( P=0.02); target lesion failure composite components were cardiac death, 0% versus 1.0% ( P=0.11); target vessel-related MI, 3.5% versus 9.7% ( P=0.003); and clinically driven target lesion revascularization, 2.8% versus 3.4% ( P=0.80). Spontaneous target vessel MI was 0.5% (2/425) for BP-SES versus 2.4% (5/206) for DP-EES ( P=0.041). Stent thrombosis rates at 1 year were similar (0.5% versus 1.0%; P=0.601).

CONCLUSIONS

In the ACS subgroup population of the BIOFLOW V study, treatment with BP-SES compared with DP-EES was associated with a significantly lower rate of 12-month target lesion failure, a difference driven by significantly lower periprocedural MI and spontaneous MI. These findings support treatment with an ultrathin strut BP-SES in ACS patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT02389946.

Real-World Use Of Ultrathin-Strut Biodegradable Polymer-Coated Sirolimus-Eluting Stents In Patients With Coronary Artery Disease: 6-Month Clinical Outcomes

BACKGROUND

Although a number of drug-eluting stents have been developed with different design, composition, and polymers, the search for an ideal drug-eluting stent is ongoing. The Tetriflex (Sahajanand Medical Technology, Surat, India) is a newer-generation, ultrathin (60 µm) biodegradable polymer-coated sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) designed with a unique long dual Z-link on a cobalt-chromium alloy. The present registry aimed to evaluate the safety and clinical outcomes of the Tetriflex SES at 6-month post-implantation.

METHODS

This was an investigator-initiated, retrospective, multicenter, single-arm, observational registry conducted at five tertiary-care centers in India. A total of 1,269 consecutive patients with coronary artery disease who underwent implantation of at least one Tetriflex SES between March 2017 and March 2018 were included. The primary outcome was considered a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction and target-lesion revascularization (TLR) at 6-month follow-up. Stent thrombosis was evaluated as a safety outcome at 6-month follow-up.

RESULTS

The mean age of patients was 54.99±10.80 years. Among 1,515 lesions treated with 1,682 Tetriflex SES, 58.3% were type C lesions. Six-month follow-up was done for 1,245 of 1,269 (98.1%) patients. At 6 months, composite events had occurred in 31 (2.5%) patients, consisting of ten (0.8%) cardiac deaths, 16 (1.3%) myocardial infarctions, and five (0.4%) TLRs. Stent thrombosis was observed in seven (0.56%) cases at 6 months. A subgroup analysis between diabetic and nondiabetic patients did not reveal any statistically significant difference for clinical outcomes at 6-month follow-up.

CONCLUSION

The results of the current registry outline the safety and effectiveness of the Tetriflex SES in real-world patients, as it displayed favorable clinical outcomes at 6-month follow-up, with low incidence of TLR and stent thrombosis.

The Smoker's Paradox Revisited: A Patient-Level Pooled Analysis of 18 Randomized Controlled Trials

OBJECTIVES

This study examined the smoker's paradox using patient-level data from 18 prospective, randomized trials of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with stent implantation.

BACKGROUND

Studies on the effects of smoking and outcomes among patients undergoing PCI have reported conflicting results.

METHODS

Data from the RAVEL, E-SIRIUS, SIRIUS, C-SIRIUS, TAXUS IV and V, ENDEAVOR II to IV, SPIRIT II to IV, HORIZONS-AMI, COMPARE I and II, PLATINUM, and TWENTE I and II randomized trials were pooled. Patients were stratified by smoking status at time of enrollment. The 1- and 5-year ischemic outcomes were compared.

RESULTS

Among 24,354 patients with available data on smoking status, 6,722 (27.6%) were current smokers. Smokers were younger and less likely to have diabetes mellitus; hypertension; hyperlipidemia; or prior myocardial infarction (MI), PCI, or coronary artery bypass grafting. Angiographically, smokers had longer lesions, more complex lesions, and more occlusions, but were less likely to have moderate or severe calcification or tortuosity. At 5 years, smokers had significantly higher rates of MI (7.8% vs. 5.6%; p < 0.0001) and definite or probable stent thrombosis (3.5% vs. 1.8%; p < 0.0001); however, there were no differences in the rates of death, cardiac death, target lesion revascularization, or composite endpoints (cardiac death, target vessel MI, or ischemic target lesion revascularization). After multivariable adjustment for potential confounders, smoking was a strong independent predictor of death (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.86; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.63 to 2.12; p < 0.0001), cardiac death (HR: 1.68; 95% CI: 1.38 to 2.05; p < 0.0001), MI (HR: 1.38; 95% CI: 1.20 to 1.58; p < 0.0001), stent thrombosis (HR: 1.60; 95% CI: 1.28 to 1.99; p < 0.0001), and target lesion failure (HR: 1.17; 95% CI: 1.05 to 1.30; p = 0.005).

CONCLUSIONS

The present large, patient-level, pooled analysis with 5-year follow-up clearly demonstrates smoking to be an important predictor of adverse outcomes after PCI.

Impact of stent generation on 2-year clinical outcomes in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients with multivessel disease who underwent culprit-only or multivessel percutaneous coronary intervention

BACKGROUND

Data concerning the impact of stent generation on long-term outcomes in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients with multivessel disease (MVD) who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with culprit-only PCI (C-PCI) or multivessel PCI (M-PCI) are limited.

METHODS

A total of 7,266 patients were separated into the two groups, a C-PCI (n = 4,901) or M-PCI group (n = 2,365). The primary endpoint was the occurrence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) defined as all-cause death, recurrent myocardial infarction, and any repeat revascularization. The secondary endpoint was the cumulative incidence of stent thrombosis (ST) at 2 years.

RESULTS

The cumulative incidence of MACE was significantly higher in the bare-metal stents (BMS) group than the first-generation (1G)-drug-eluting stents (DES) (C-PCI: adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.940; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.389-2.709; p < .001; M-PCI: aHR, 1.544; 95% CI, 1.099-2.074; p = .038), and the second-generation (2G)-DES group (C-PCI: aHR, 2.271; 95% CI, 1.657-3.114; p < .001; M-PCI: aHR, 2.999; 95% CI, 1.899-4.704; p < .001). In the M-PCI group, 1G-DES showed a higher incidence of MACE compared with 2G-DES (aHR, 1.639; 95% CI, 1.028-2.614; p = .004). The cumulative incidences of ST in the both groups were similar.

CONCLUSION

The cumulative incidence of MACE was the lowest for 2G-DES, the highest for BMS, and intermediate for 1G-DES in the STEMI patients with MVD after C-PCI or M-PCI. However, cumulative incidence of ST in the two different reperfusion strategy groups was similar regardless of stent generation.

A prospective randomised trial comparing the novel ridaforolimus-eluting BioNIR stent to the zotarolimus-eluting Resolute stent: six-month angiographic and one-year clinical results of the NIREUS trial

AIMS

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the BioNIR stent compared with the Resolute Integrity stent for the treatment of coronary artery disease.

METHODS AND RESULTS

This first-in-human, multicentre, single-blind randomised non-inferiority trial was performed in Europe and Israel. Patients with stable coronary artery disease or acute coronary syndromes were randomly assigned to treatment with BioNIR or Resolute Integrity stents in a 2:1 fashion. The primary endpoint was angiographic in-stent late lumen loss (LLL) at six months. Three hundred and two patients were randomised, of whom 261 (86.0%) underwent six-month angiographic follow-up. The BioNIR stent was non-inferior to the Resolute Integrity stent for the primary endpoint of in-stent LLL at six months (0.04±0.30 mm vs. 0.03±0.31 mm, respectively, pnoninferiority<0.0001). At 12-month follow-up, target lesion failure occurred in 3.4% in the BioNIR group and 5.9% in the Resolute Integrity group (p=0.22). Rates of MACE were similar between the BioNIR and Resolute Integrity groups (4.3% vs. 5.9%, respectively, p=0.45).

CONCLUSIONS

The BioNIR stent was non-inferior to the Resolute Integrity stent for the primary endpoint of angiographic in-stent LLL at six months. Clinical outcomes at one year were comparable between the two groups.

Comparison of the polymer-free biolimus-coated BioFreedom stent with the thin-strut biodegradable polymer sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent in an all-comers population treated with percutaneous coronary intervention: Rationale and design of the randomized SORT OUT IX trial

BACKGROUND

In patients with increased bleeding risk during dual antiplatelet therapy, the biolimus A9-coated BioFreedom, a stainless steel drug-coated stent devoid of polymer, has shown superiority compared to a bare-metal stent. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the polymer-free biolimus A9-coated BioFreedom is noninferior to a modern thin-strut biodegradable polymer cobalt-chromium sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent in an all-comers patient population treated with percutaneous coronary intervention.

METHODS

The multicenter SORT OUT IX trial (NCT02623140) randomly assigned all-comers patients to treatment with the BioFreedom drug-coated stent or the biodegradable polymer Orsiro stent in 4 Danish University Hospitals. The primary end point target lesion failure is a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction (not related to other than index lesion), or target lesion revascularization within 12 months. Clinically driven event detection based on Danish registries will be used and continue through 5 years. Assuming an event rate of 4.2% in each stent group, 1,563 patients in each treatment arm will provide 90% power to detect noninferiority of the drug-coated BioFreedom stent with a noninferiority margin of 2.1%.

RESULTS

A total of 3,150 patients have been randomized and enrolled in the study.

CONCLUSIONS

The SORT OUT IX trial will determine whether the drug-coated BioFreedom stent is noninferior to a modern biodegradable polymer Orsiro stent.

Incidence and predictors of target lesion failure in patients undergoing contemporary DES implantation-Individual patient data pooled analysis from 6 randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND

Drug-eluting stents (DESs) have improved clinical outcomes of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Nevertheless, adverse events related to previously treated lesion still occur. We sought to evaluate the incidence and predictors of target lesion failure (TLF) in patients undergoing contemporary DES implantation.

METHODS

Patient-level data from 6 prospective, randomized trials were pooled, and DES treatment outcomes were analyzed at up to 5 years. Primary outcome was TLF (cardiac death, target lesion revascularization, or target vessel myocardial infarction). Cox proportional-hazards model was used to identify predictors of TLF.

RESULTS

Overall, 10,072 patients were included in the analysis. TLF rate was 1.7%, 4.3%, and 11.9% at 30 days, 1 year, and 5 years, respectively. The only independent predictor of TLF at 30 days was stent length (hazard ratio [HR] 1.017, 95% CI 1.011-1.024, P < .0001). Moderate/severe calcification, stent length and post procedural diameter sthenosis were predictors between 30 days to 1 year but not at 1 to 5 years. Reference vessel diameter was the only lesion-related predictor at 5 years (P = .003). Clinical predictors of TLF between 30 days and 1 year were diabetes and hypertension (P < .01 for both), and between 1 and 5 years, diabetes (HR 1.40, 95% CI 1.13-1.73, P = .002), prior coronary artery bypass grafting (HR 2.52, 95% CI 1.92-3.30, P < .0001), and prior PCI (HR 1.29, 95% CI 1.02-1.64, P = .04) predicted TLF.

CONCLUSIONS

Predictors of TLF vary in the early, late, and very late postprocedural periods. Reference vessel diameter was the only lesion-related predictor of long-term TLF; clinical predictors were diabetes, prior coronary artery bypass grafting, and prior PCI.