Carotid artery stenting with filter protection in high-risk patients showing severe electroencephalographic alterations during carotid endarterectomy

Continuous Blood Glucose Monitoring May Detect Carotid Occlusion Intolerance during Carotid Artery Stenting

BACKGROUND

The frequency of the occurrence of adverse events associated with carotid artery stenting (CAS) is usually low, but serious adverse events such as cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome (CHS) may occur. Real-time monitoring is ideal for the early detection of adverse events during the surgical procedure. This study aimed to evaluate continuous blood glucose (BG) monitoring for the detection of adverse events during CAS.

METHODS

Forty patients undergoing scheduled CAS were prospectively enrolled. An artificial pancreas was used for continuous BG monitoring (once per minute), using venous blood extracted at a rate of 2 mL/hr during CAS. The primary endpoint was a correlation between BG change and adverse events.

RESULTS

CAS was discontinued in 1 patient, and BG was not measured in 5 patients (12.5%) because of the inability to extract blood. Among 34 evaluable patients, no patient developed CHS, but 3 patients (9%) experienced carotid occlusion intolerance. During CAS, BG was significantly higher in patients with carotid occlusion intolerance (median: 5 mg/dL) than in patients without carotid occlusion intolerance (median: 0 mg/dL) (P = 0.0221). A cutoff BG value ≥4 mg/dL during CAS showed 50% sensitivity and 100% specificity for the detection of carotid occlusion intolerance. There was no significant correlation between BG change and other adverse events.

CONCLUSIONS

BG elevation may help detect carotid occlusion intolerance although it is still unknown whether BG monitoring can detect CHS. Further studies should validate that a cutoff BG elevation value of ≥4 mg/dL during CAS indicates carotid occlusion intolerance.

Perioperative and follow-up results in carotid artery stenting with contralateral carotid occlusion

PURPOSE

Contralateral carotid occlusion (CCO) increases the risk of carotid endarterectomy (CEA). We determined the outcome of carotid angioplasty and stenting (CAS), an alternative to CEA, in the setting of CCO through an independent analysis of imaging and clinical outcome.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Medical records of 26 consecutive patients with CCO who underwent CAS by a single operator using the same procedural protocol (with distal protection and closed-cell stents) were retrospectively evaluated. National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores before and after CAS, periprocedural complications, and the restenosis rate were analyzed by independent stroke neurologists who were not involved in the care of the patients.

RESULTS

The median mRS score for the 26 patients was 1 (range 0-5) before and after CAS. All of the patients underwent clinical and imaging follow-up (mean 19.5 ± 14.3 and 11.6 ± 11.2 months, respectively). Thirty-day mortality/permanent morbidity rates were 0 %. One patient had hyperperfusion syndrome and was managed medically without sequelae; however, he had stent occlusion after 30 days, resulting in a decline in his mRS from 4 (preprocedure) to 5. Otherwise, there was no decline in mRS during the post-discharge follow-up.

CONCLUSION

According to an independent analysis of this single-operator series, CAS is safe and effective for the treatment of patients with CCO.

Carotid artery stenting of a contralateral occlusion and in-hospital outcomes: results from the CARE (Carotid Artery Revascularization and Endarterectomy) registry

OBJECTIVES

The authors sought to study the characteristics and outcomes of patients with contralateral carotid artery occlusions (CCOs) undergoing elective carotid artery stenting (CAS).

BACKGROUND

CCOs are associated with adverse neurological events following carotid endarterectomy.

METHODS

In-hospital outcomes were examined in patients with and without CCO undergoing elective CAS in the Carotid Artery Revascularization and Endarterectomy (CARE) registry. A CCO was defined as a 100% occlusion of the contralateral internal carotid artery. To minimize differences in measured comorbidities, a 3:1 propensity matching analysis was performed comparing 42 clinical and demographic variables between CCO and non-CCO patients from the CARE registry. The primary endpoint was a composite of in-hospital death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and nonfatal stroke.

RESULTS

Between April 2005 and January 2012, 13,993 eligible patients underwent elective CAS, of whom 1,450 (10%) had CCO. There were 5,500 CAS procedures (1,375 CCO and 4,125 non-CCO) identified in the propensity analysis. The primary composite endpoint occurred in 29 (2.1%) and 107 (2.6%) patients with and without CCO, respectively (adjusted odds ratio: 0.81, 95% confidence interval: 0.53 to 1.23, p = 0.316).

CONCLUSIONS

In the CARE registry, there was no evidence that the presence of a CCO was associated with an increased risk of in-hospital death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or nonfatal stroke in patients undergoing elective CAS. These findings may have implications on the selection of carotid revascularization procedures for such patients.

Cerebral hemodynamic benefits after contralateral carotid artery stenting in patients with internal carotid artery occlusion

CEA contralateral to an ICA occlusion is considered a surgical risk, and CAS may be an alternative for these patients. Our goal was to examine whether CAS improves cerebral hemodynamics on the treated side and on the side of the ICA occlusion, on the basis of measurement of CBF and CVR by using SPECT. The subjects were 8 patients who underwent contralateral CAS. Resting CBF and CVR to acetazolamide were measured by using (123)I-IMP SPECT before and chronically (3-6 months) after CAS. Resting CBF was also measured immediately (<2 hours) after CAS by using (123)I-IMP SPECT. There were no significant differences in resting CBF in both hemispheres immediately after CAS. However, resting CBF and CVR both significantly increased in the chronic period in both hemispheres. Contralateral CAS in patients with ICA occlusion resulted in cerebral hemodynamic improvement on the treated side and on the side of ICA occlusion.

Effectiveness and safety of carotid artery stenting for significant carotid stenosis in patients with contralateral occlusion (from the German ALKK-CAS Registry experience)

Data on the safety of carotid artery stenting (CAS) in a large number of unselected patients with contralateral occlusion and significant ipsilateral stenosis are less known. Accordingly, we evaluated 3,137 patients undergoing CAS who were enrolled in a German Registry from 2000 to 2008 and compared the clinical features and in-hospital outcomes of those with and without contralateral carotid occlusion. Contralateral carotid occlusion was present in 191 patients (6.1%) undergoing CAS. Despite the similar age of the patients with and without contralateral carotid occlusion, those with contralateral occlusion had a greater prevalence of co-morbidities, complex carotid stenosis, and greater number of focal neurologic lesions on the contralateral side. The incidence of in-hospital events, including death (1.0% vs 0.5%), ipsilateral major stroke (1.1% vs 1.1%), death or major ipsilateral stroke (1.6% vs 1.4%), ipsilateral transient ischemic attack (2.7% vs 2.5%), myocardial infarction (0.0% vs 0.1%), and reintervention (0.5% vs 1.1%), was low and was not significantly different between those with and without contralateral occlusion (p >0.05 for all comparisons). Among patients with carotid occlusion, major ipsilateral stroke (2.2%), death (2.2%), and a combination of these 2 events (3.3%) were observed exclusively in symptomatic patients with no event in asymptomatic patients. In conclusion, our data from a large number of patients undergoing CAS in a recent contemporary community-based practice attests to the low risk of periprocedural events among patients with contralateral carotid occlusion supporting CAS as an attractive option for the treatment of these patients.