Long-term clinical effectiveness of a drug-coated balloon for in-stent restenosis in Femoropopliteal lesions

Safety and Efficacy of Radial Artery Access for Peripheral Vascular Intervention: A Single-Center Experience

Radial artery (RA) access has been increasingly utilized for coronary procedures because of lower rates of access-site complications and improved patient satisfaction. However, limited data are available for RA access for peripheral vascular intervention (PVI). We performed a retrospective review of 143 patients who underwent PVI through RA access from February 2020 to September 2022 at a single institution. Baseline characteristics and follow-up data were ascertained from a prospectively maintained institutional database. Of 491 PVI, 156 (31.8%) were performed through the RA. Anatomical locations for intervention were the femoral (44.8%), iliac (31.1%), popliteal (9.6%) peroneal (2.7%), tibial (9.9%), and subclavian (1.9%) arteries. Procedural access was obtained through the right RA (92.9%), left RA (4.5%), or right ulnar artery (2.6%) using the 6 French R2P Destination Slender sheath in 85, 105, and 119 cm lengths. Atherectomy was used in 34.7%. Mean contrast volume was 105.5 ml and the average fluoroscopy time was 18.5 minutes. Conversion to femoral access occurred in 3 cases (1.9%) because of arterial spasm and noncrossable lesions. Concomitant pedal access occurred in 2 cases (1.3%). Periprocedural complication rate was 3.84%, of which access-site hematoma was most common (3.2%); none required blood transfusion, surgical intervention, or additional hospital stay. There was 1 case (0.64%) of in-hospital stroke. The mortality rate at 30-day, 6-month, and 1-year was 1.4%, 2.8%, and 4.2%, respectively. In conclusion, RA access is feasible for diverse PVI, and future studies are needed to assess safety and benefit compared with femoral artery access.

Contemporary Therapy of Femoropopliteal In-Stent Restenosis / Occlusion, 36-month Follow up Study

BACKGROUND

Drug-eluting devices improved outcomes of endovascular therapy (EVT) for femoropopliteal lesions, but mainly for de novo lesions. Endovascular therapy for in-stent restenosis/occlusion (ISR/O) is challenging, and large trials and long-term data are not well reported.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study is a physician initiated, multicenter, and retrospective design. From 7 Japanese institutes, 3635 femoropopliteal cases were enrolled in the study. Among these, 346 cases of first ISR/O were studied. We defined drug-coated-balloon, drug-eluting stent, and covered stent as New devices. Balloon angioplasty and bare nitinol stent were included in the control group.

RESULTS

The propensity score matching extracted 112 pairs. At 12 months, the primary patency rate was 80.3% in the new device group and 52.7% in the control group, and there was a significant intergroup difference (P = .004). However, at 36 months, the rate was 43.3% vs 39.2%, with no significant difference (P = .090). No baseline characteristics had any significant interaction effect (all P > .05).

CONCLUSIONS

The New devices were more effective than the control group for ISR/O at 1 year, but caught up at 3 years.

Repeat drug-coated balloon angioplasty for femoropopliteal lesions: 12-month results from a retrospective observational study

BACKGROUND

The clinical implications of restenosis after drug-coated balloon (DCB) treatment remain unclear. We compared the clinical outcomes between DCB angioplasty for restenosis and de novo femoropopliteal artery lesions. This single-center retrospective study included 571 patients (737 limbs) who underwent either repeat (54 patients, 64 limbs) or de novo DCB (517 patients, 673 limbs) without bailout stenting. After propensity score matching, 49 matched pairs were analyzed. The primary endpoint was the 1-year primary patency, with secondary endpoints including the freedom from target lesion revascularization (TLR), major adverse limb events (MALE), and early restenosis. Predictors of restenosis were identified using multivariable Cox regression analysis.

RESULTS

The repeat-DCB group displayed significantly lower rates of 1-year primary patency and freedom from TLR compared to those of the de novo-DCB group (50.1% vs. 77.4%, p = 0.029 and 54.9% vs. 83.6%, p = 0.0.44, respectively). No significant differences were observed in early restenosis or MALE (10.7% vs. 5.9%, p = 0.455 and 48.3% vs. 73.4%, p = 0.055, respectively). Restenosis after DCB angioplasty was associated with repeat DCB (hazard ratio [HR], 5.13; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.43-18.4; p = 0.012) and small vessel size of < 4.5 mm (HR, 6.25; 95% CI, 1.17-33.4; p = 0.032). Furthermore, restenosis after repeat DCB angioplasty was associated with the Peripheral Artery Calcification Scoring System (PACSS) grade 4 (HR, 4.20; 95% CI, 1.08-16.3; p = 0.038), small vessel size of < 4.5 mm (HR, 9.44; 95% CI, 1.21-73.7; p = 0.032), and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) use (HR, 0.05; 95% CI, 0.01-0.44; p = 0.007).

CONCLUSIONS

The 1-year primary patency rate following repeat DCB angioplasty for femoropopliteal lesions was notably lower than that of DCB treatment for de novo lesions. Repeat DCB strategy was associated with an increased risk of patency loss. Regarding repeat restenosis after DCB treatments, PACSS grade 4 calcification and small vessel diameter of < 4.5 mm were associated with an increased risk of restenosis, whereas IVUS use correlated with a decreased risk of restenosis.

Two-year results of endovascular therapy for femoropopliteal artery disease in Japan during the introduction of drug-eluting devices

Although various devices and strategies were introduced into endovascular therapy, factors associated with chronic outcomes remain unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to build preliminary data of Japanese femoropopliteal lesions in a period of transition from non-drug to drug technology. This research was a multicenter, prospective, and observational study. A total of 1003 consecutive patients with a mean age of 73.6 ± 8.3 years from 67 institutes were registered from February 2017 to June 2018 in Japan. In addition to the baseline data, angiographic findings affecting primary patency were studied. Lesion length was 16.4 ± 9.6 cm, and chronic total occlusion was found in 42%. Calcified lesions were found in 75% of patients. The 1-year and 2-year freedom from target lesion revascularization were 81% and 75%, respectively, and maximum walking distance showed improvement over the two years (pre; 234 m ± 211 m, 1-year; 402 m ± 241 m, 2-year; 428 m ± 231 m). The independent predictors for primary patency were pre-procedure ankle-brachial index, history of minor amputation, ostium lesion, and drug-coated balloon use. Angiographic analysis revealed that only lesion length and full cover stent were related to primary patency. Two-year freedom from target vessel revascularization was 75% in the Japanese transitional period of drug-eluting devices. Maximum walking distance was improved and well maintained for up to 2-year.

The Diagnostic Value of Circulating Biomarkers and Role of Drug-Coated Balloons for In-Stent Restenosis in Patients with Peripheral Arterial Disease

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is an increasingly pathological condition that commonly affects the femoropopliteal arteries. The current fashionable treatment is percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA), often with stenting. However, the in-stent restenosis (ISR) rate after the stenting of the femoropopliteal (FP) district remains high. Many techniques have been proposed for the treatment of femoropopliteal ISR, such as intravascular brachytherapy, laser atherectomy, second stenting and drug-coated balloons angioplasty (DCB). DCB showed a significantly lower rate of restenosis and target lesions revascularization (TLR) compared to conventional PTA. However, further studies and multi-center RCTs with dedicated long-term follow-up are needed to verify the true efficiency of this approach. Nowadays, the correlation between PAD and inflammation biomarkers is well known. Multiple studies have shown that proinflammatory markers (such as C-reactive proteins) and the high plasma levels of microRNA could predict the outcomes after stent placement. In particular, circulating microRNA-320a, microRNA-3937, microRNA-642a-3p and microRNA-572 appear to hold promise in diagnosing ISR in patients with PAD, but also as predictors of stent patency. This narrative review intends to summarize the current knowledge on the value of circulating biomarkers as predictors of ISR and to foster the scientific debate on the advantages of using DCB in the treatment of ISR in the FP district.