Procedural results and distal embolization after saphenous vein graft stenting and angioplasty for in-stent restenosis of grafts

Predictors of periprocedural complications in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions within coronary artery bypass grafts

BACKGROUND

During the first decade following the coronary bypass grafting, at least ten percent of the patients require percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) due to graft failure. Saphenous vein grafts (SVG) are innately at a higher risk of periprocedural complications. The present study aimed to investigate predictors of periprocedural complications of PCI within coronary artery bypass grafts.

METHODS

This study analyzed data gathered in the Polish National Registry (ORPKI) between January 2015 and December 2016. Of the 221,195 patients undergoing PCI, data on 2,616 patients after PCI of SVG and 442 patients after internal mammary artery (IMA) were extracted. The dissimilarities in periprocedural complications between the SVG, IMA and non-IMA/SVG groups and their predictors were investigated.

RESULTS

Patients in the SVG group were older (p < 0.001), with a higher burden of concomitant disease and differing clinical presentation. The rate of de-novo lesions was lower, while restenosis was higher at baseline in the SVG (p < 0.001). The rate of no-reflows (p < 0.001), perforations (p = 0.01) and all periprocedural complications (p < 0.01) was higher in the SVG group, while deaths were lower (p < 0.001). Among the predictors of no-reflows, it was found that acute coronary syndromes (ACS), thrombectomy and past cerebral stroke, while the complications included arterial hypertension, Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) flow before PCI and thrombectomy.

CONCLUSIONS

Percutaneous coronary interventions of SVG is associated with increased risk of specific periprocedural complications. The ACS, slower TIMI flow before PCI and thrombectomy significantly increase the periprocedural complication rate in patients undergoing PCI of SVG.

Angiographic and clinical outcome following paclitaxel-eluting stent (taxus) implantation: a single center experience

Coronary stents dramatically improve acute outcomes of percutaneous coronary interventions but also induce abundant intraluminal neointimal growth. Drug-eluting stents reduce intimal hyperplasia, the main cause of in-stent restenosis. The safety and beneficial effects of paclitaxel-eluting stents (Taxus) in patients treated in daily practice remains to be defined. The aim of this study was to report the late outcomes of Taxus implantation in patients with coronary artery disease. The study population consisted of 151 patients (202 stents) who had undergone coronary Taxus stent implantation between March 2003 and May 2005. Patients were eligible for enrollment if there was symptomatic coronary artery disease or positive functional testing, and angiographic evidence of single or multivessel disease with a target lesion stenosis of 70% in a 2.0 mm vessel. The control coronary angiographies were performed after stent deployment at 12 +/- 2.8 months, and approximately 2 years of follow-up was completed. The polymer-based paclitaxel-eluting stent has been shown to be effective in reducing restenosis. Patients were followed-up for 16.7 +/- 7.4 months. All patients survived after stent implantation, but 2 (1.3%) patients experienced acute myocardial infarction after 3 and 9 months following angioplasty. Recurrent angina pectoris was observed in 3 patients. Angiographic evidence of restenosis was observed in these 5 patients. Three patients underwent angioplasty because of re- stenosis, and coronary artery bypass grafting was conducted in the other 2 patients. The results indicate that Taxus stents can be implanted with a very high success rate and have encouraging long-term angiographic and clinical results.

Angiographic and clinical outcome following sirolimus-eluting stent (Cypher) implantation. A single center experience

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the late outcomes of sirolimus-eluting stent implantation in patients with coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND

Drug-eluting stents reduce intimal hyperplasia, which is the main cause of in-stent restenosis. Sirolimus-eluting stents significantly reduce clinical and angiographic restenosis and improve event-free survival.

METHODS

The study population consisted of 207 patients (273 stents) who had undergone coronary Cypher stent implantation. Patients were eligible for enrollment if there was symptomatic coronary artery disease or positive exercise testing, and angiographic evidence of single or multivessel disease with a target lesion stenosis of > or = 70% in a > or = 2.25 mm vessel. Follow-up coronary angiography was performed 18 months after stent deployment. Patients were followed-up for a mean of 24.7 +/- 7.4 months.

RESULTS

All patients survived after stent implantation, but 5 (2.4%) patients experienced acute ST elevation myocardial infarction and 4 (1.9%) patients developed non-Q wave myocardial infarction following angioplasty. Recurrent angina pectoris was observed in 16 (7.7%) patients (11 stable angina pectoris and 5 unstable angina pectoris). Angiographic evidence of restenosis was observed in these 20 (9.66%) patients. The 5 other patients had noncritical angiographic restenosis. Eleven (5.3%) patients underwent angioplasty because of restenosis, and coronary artery bypass grafting was conducted in the other 9 (4.3%) patients.

CONCLUSION

The results of the present study indicate that Cypher stents could be implanted with a very high success rate and have encouraging long-term angiographic and clinical results.

Comparison of effectiveness and safety of drug-eluting stents versus vascular brachytherapy for saphenous vein graft in-stent restenosis

We investigated the safety and efficacy of drug-eluting stents (DESs) for the treatment of patients who presented with in-stent restenosis (ISR) of saphenous vein grafts (SVGs) and compared the in-hospital and 6-month clinical outcomes of DESs with those of intravascular brachytherapy and balloon angioplasty alone. Records of 187 patients who presented with ISR of SVGs were analyzed. Of these, 34 consecutive patients were treated with DES implantation, 93 were treated with intravascular brachytherapy (n = 60 with gamma-radiation, n = 33 with beta-radiation), and 60 patients underwent conventional treatment with balloon angioplasty alone. Clinical and angiographic characteristics at baseline were comparable between groups. The DES group had less non-Q-wave myocardial infarction than did the intravascular brachytherapy and balloon angioplasty groups (0%, 20%, and 26%, p = 0.003 and <0.001, respectively). At 6 months, death occurred in 0% of the DES group, 2% of the intravascular brachytherapy group, and 5% of the balloon angioplasty group (p = 0.36 and <0.18, respectively). Target lesion revascularization/major adverse cardiac events were similar in the intravascular brachytherapy and DES groups (12% and 3%, p = 0.13) and significantly decreased compared with patients who were treated with balloon angioplasty alone (55%, p <0.001 for the 2 comparisons). The results of this retrospective analysis suggest that DES implantation is at least as effective and safe as intravascular brachytherapy for the treatment of SVG ISR and that these treatment modalities are superior to balloon angioplasty alone.

Effectiveness of a Sirolimus-Eluting Stent (Cypher ) for Diffuse In-Stent Restenosis Inside a Bare Metal Stent

We estimated the benefit of a sirolimus-eluting stent (SES, Cypher) for diffuse (> 10 mm) in-stent restenosis (ISR) inside bare metal stents (BMS) because the feasibility of the SES was not confirmed after its recent approval in Japan. Clinical and angiographic outcomes after SES implantation to 93 diffuse ISR were compared with those of 3 groups treated by plain old balloon angioplasty (POBA, (n = 54)), cutting balloon angioplasty (CB, (n = 24)), and BMS (n = 41) in a series of 153 patients whose follow-up quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) evaluated 3-9 months after the treatments was obtained from January 2003 through December 2005. For 33 lesions in the SES group, 12-month follow-up QCA results were obtained and compared with those at 6 months. Ticlopidine (200 mg/day) was prescribed for at least 12 weeks after SES implantation and for 2 weeks after BMS in addition to aspirin (81-100 mg/day). Patient characteristics and the characteristics of previous implanted BMS in the SES group were not significantly different from those in the other groups. Death from cardiac causes and nonfatal myocardial infarction did not occur in any group. Stent thrombosis was not observed in the BMS and SES groups. The incidence of repeat target lesion revascularization (re-TLR) in the SES group (3.23%) was significantly lower compared with that of the POBA (37.0%), CB (25.0%), and BMS (29.3%) groups (P < 0.001, respectively). Late loss in the SES group (0.44 +/- 0.41 mm) was significantly smaller than that in the BMS group (1.34 +/- 0.74 mm) (P < 0.05). The rate of recurrent ISR (re-ISR) in SES (5.38%) was significantly lower than that in POBA (46.3%), CB (41.7%), and BMS (46.3%) (P < 0.001, respectively). The QCA variables at 6 months in the SES group were not significantly different from those at 12 months. Thus, SES implantation for diffuse ISR was far superior since it markedly reduced the incidence of re-TLR with re-ISR at up to 6-months follow-up. In addition, this angiographic patency after SES implantation continued until 12 months.