Drug-Coated Balloon-Only Strategy for De Novo Coronary Artery Disease: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials

Drug-coated balloons in high-risk patients and diabetes mellitus: A meta-analysis of 10 studies

BACKGROUND

Despite the improvements in drug eluting stents (DES) technology, suboptimal results have been observed in certain higher-risk subsets of patients, as in diabetes mellitus (DM). Drug-coated balloons (DCB) could represent an alternative to DES in complex populations and anatomies, as in DM.

AIMS

The present meta-analysis aimed at assessing the role of DCBs in patients with diabetes mellitus.

METHODS

Studies comparing DCB versus percutaneous coronary revascularization (PCI) with/without DES for PCI in high-risk populations (>30% DM) were included. The primary efficacy endpoint was overall mortality, secondary endpoints were myocardial infarction, target lesion revascularization (TLR), and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE).

RESULTS

We included 10 studies, comprising 2026 patients. Among them, 1002 patients (49.5%) were treated with DCB and 1024 with DES implantation. Among the included studies, 6 only enrolled diabetic patients and 2 had a prevalence of diabetes of 50%. At a mean follow-up of 15.3 months, mortality rate was 3.8% (82 patients), significantly lower with DCB (3.2% vs. 4.9% with DES; odds ratio [OR] [95% confidence interval {CI}] = 0.61 [0.38, 0.97], p = 0.04 phet = 0.34. A similar reduction in favor of DCB was observed for MACE (13.6% vs. 17.6%; OR [95% CI] = 0.79 [0.61, 1.04], p = 0.09, phet = 0.25), while TLR was significantly reduced only in the diabetic-restricted sub-analysis.

CONCLUSION

In the present meta-analysis, we showed a significant survival benefit and an absolute reduction in MACE and TLR with a DCB-based strategy as compared to DES in high-risk patients, mostly with DM. Future large-scale randomized trials, dedicated to this population, are deserved to confirm our findings.

WHAT IS KNOWN

Complex coronary anatomies and diabetes mellitus (DM) represent the pitfall of drug eluting stents (DES), mainly due to inflammatory and thrombotic complications, which should be reduced with drug-coated balloons (DCB).

WHAT IS NEW

We confirmed a significant advantage of DCB versus DES in the treatment of de novo lesions in high-risk patients and mainly in DM, reducing overall mortality, MACE and target lesion revascularization.

Intravascular Ultrasound vs Angiography-Guided Drug-Coated Balloon Angioplasty: The ULTIMATE Ⅲ Trial

BACKGROUND

Drug-coated balloon (DCB) angioplasty seems a safe and effective option for specific de novo coronary lesions. However, the beneficial effect of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-guided DCB angioplasty in de novo lesions remains uncertain.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to assess the benefits of IVUS guidance over angiography guidance during DCB angioplasty in de novo coronary lesions.

METHODS

A total of 260 patients with high bleeding risk who had a de novo coronary lesion (reference vessel diameter 2.0-4.0 mm, and lesion length ≤15 mm) were randomly assigned to either an IVUS-guided or an angioplasty-guided DCB angioplasty group. The primary endpoint was in-segment late lumen loss (LLL) at 7 months after procedure. The secondary endpoint was target vessel failure at 6 months.

RESULTS

A total of 2 patients in the angiography-guided group and 7 patients in the IVUS-guided group underwent bailout stent implantation (P = 0.172). The primary endpoint of 7-month LLL was 0.03 ± 0.52 mm with angiography guidance vs -0.10 ± 0.34 mm with IVUS guidance (mean difference 0.14 mm; 95% CI: 0.02-0.26; P = 0.025). IVUS guidance was also associated with a larger 7-month minimal lumen diameter (2.06 ± 0.62 mm vs 1.75 ± 0.63 mm; P < 0.001) and a smaller diameter stenosis (28.15% ± 13.88% vs 35.83% ± 17.69%; P = 0.001) compared with angiography guidance. Five target vessel failures occurred at 6 months, with 4 (3.1%) in the angiography-guided group and 1 (0.8%) in the IVUS-guided group (P = 0.370).

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrated that IVUS-guided DCB angioplasty is associated with a lower LLL in patients with a de novo coronary lesion compared with angiography guidance. (Intravascular Ultrasound Versus Angiography Guided Drug-Coated Balloon [ULTIMATE-III]; NCT04255043).

Association Between Acute Myocardial Infarction Symptoms and Short- and Long-term Mortality After the Event

BACKGROUND

In this study, we investigated various acute myocardial infarction (AMI) symptoms and their associations with short-term (28 day) and long-term mortality.

METHODS

The analysis was based on 5900 patients, aged 25 to 84 years, with first-time AMI recorded by the population-based Myocardial Infarction Registry Augsburg between 2010 and 2017. Median follow-up time was 3.8 years (interquartile range: 1.1-6.3). As part of a face-to-face interview, the presence (yes/no) of 11 most common AMI symptoms at the acute event was assessed. Using multivariable-adjusted logistic regression and Cox regression models, the association between various symptoms and all-cause mortality was investigated. P values of the regression models were false discovery rate adjusted.

RESULTS

Pain in various body parts (chest pain, left and right shoulder/arm/hand, between shoulder blades), sweating, nausea/vomiting, dizziness and fear of death/feeling of annihilation were significantly associated with a decreased 28-day mortality after AMI. The pain symptoms and sweating were also significantly associated with a decreased long-term mortality. Shortness of breath was significantly associated with a higher long-term mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

The absence of several symptoms, including typical chest discomfort (chest pain or retrosternal pressure/tightness), is associated with unfavourable outcomes after AMI. This finding has implications for patient management and public health measures designed to encourage appropriate and prompt medical consultation of patients with atypical AMI symptoms.