Percutaneous coronary intervention for coronary bifurcation disease: consensus from the first 10 years of the European Bifurcation Club meetings

The European Bifurcation Club (EBC) is an independent, non-political and informal "think tank" of scientists with a particular interest in clinical, technical and fundamental aspects of the management of coronary artery bifurcation disease. Bifurcations account for 15-20% of all percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) and remain one of the most challenging lesions in interventional cardiology in terms of procedural success rate as well as long-term cardiac events. The optimal management is, despite a fast growing scientific literature, still the subject of considerable debate, one of the main concerns being the potential increased risk of late stent thrombosis associated with treatment complexity. The EBC was initiated in 2004 and aims to facilitate an exchange of ideas on management of bifurcation disease. The EBC hosts an annual, compact meeting dedicated to bifurcations which brings together physicians, engineers, biologists, physicists, epidemiologists and statisticians for detailed discussions. Every meeting is finalised with a consensus statement which reflects the unique opportunity of combining the opinion of interventional cardiologists with the opinion of a large variety of other scientists on bifurcation management. This year the EBC celebrates its 10-year anniversary. This consensus document represents the summary of the consensus from the last ten years of the annual EBC meetings.

Percutaneous coronary intervention for bifurcation coronary lesions: the 15th consensus document from the European Bifurcation Club

The 15th European Bifurcation Club (EBC) meeting was held in Barcelona in October 2019. It facilitated a renewed consensus on coronary bifurcation lesions (CBL) and unprotected left main (LM) percutaneous interventions. Bifurcation stenting techniques continue to be refined, developed and tested. It remains evident that a provisional approach with optional side branch treatment utilising T, T and small protrusion (TAP) or culotte continues to provide flexible options for the majority of CBL patients. Debate persists regarding the optimal treatment of side branches, including assessment of clinical significance and thresholds for bail-out treatment. In more complex CBL, especially those involving the LM, adoption of dedicated two-stent techniques should be considered. Operators using such techniques have to be fully familiar with their procedural steps and should acknowledge associated limitations and challenges. When using two-stent techniques, failure to perform a final kissing inflation is regarded as a technical failure, since it may jeopardise clinical outcome. The development of novel technical tools and drug regimens deserves attention. In particular, intracoronary imaging, bifurcation simulation, drug-eluting balloon technology and tailored antiplatelet therapy have been identified as promising tools to enhance clinical outcomes. In conclusion, the evolution of a broad spectrum of bifurcation PCI components has resulted from studies extending from bench testing to randomised controlled trials. However, further advances are still needed to achieve the ambitious goal of optimising the clinical outcomes for every patient undergoing PCI on a CBL.

The European bifurcation club Left Main Coronary Stent study: a randomized comparison of stepwise provisional vs. systematic dual stenting strategies (EBC MAIN)

BACKGROUND

Patients with non-left-main coronary bifurcation lesions are usually best treated with a stepwise provisional approach. However, patients with true left main stem bifurcation lesions have been shown in one dedicated randomized study to benefit from systematic dual stent implantation.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Four hundred and sixty-seven patients with true left main stem bifurcation lesions requiring intervention were recruited to the EBC MAIN study in 11 European countries. Patients were aged 71 ± 10 years; 77% were male. Patients were randomly allocated to a stepwise layered provisional strategy (n = 230) or a systematic dual stent approach (n = 237). The primary endpoint (a composite of death, myocardial infarction, and target lesion revascularization at 12 months) occurred in 14.7% of the stepwise provisional group vs. 17.7% of the systematic dual stent group (hazard ratio 0.8, 95% confidence interval 0.5-1.3; P = 0.34). Secondary endpoints were death (3.0% vs. 4.2%, P = 0.48), myocardial infarction (10.0% vs. 10.1%, P = 0.91), target lesion revascularization (6.1% vs. 9.3%, P = 0.16), and stent thrombosis (1.7% vs. 1.3%, P = 0.90), respectively. Procedure time, X-ray dose and consumables favoured the stepwise provisional approach. Symptomatic improvement was excellent and equal in each group.

CONCLUSIONS

Among patients with true bifurcation left main stem stenosis requiring intervention, fewer major adverse cardiac events occurred with a stepwise layered provisional approach than with planned dual stenting, although the difference was not statistically significant. The stepwise provisional strategy should remain the default for distal left main stem bifurcation intervention.

STUDY REGISTRATION

http://clinicaltrials.gov NCT02497014.

An independent bench comparison of two bioresorbable drug-eluting coronary scaffolds (Absorb and DESolve) with a durable metallic drug-eluting stent (ML8/Xpedition)

AIMS

We compared the mechanical and physical properties and the safety from strut fracture of side branch and post-dilatation strategies for the Absorb and DESolve bioresorbable scaffolds with the durable metallic drug-eluting XIENCE Xpedition stent using largely independent bench testing.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The strut thickness and crossing profile of the polymeric scaffolds was greater than those of the metallic drug-eluting stent. While all three devices recoiled after deployment, the DESolve enlarged between 10 mins and one hour returning to the immediate post-deployment diameter ("self-correction"). In 3.0 mm stents/scaffolds, the main branch post-dilatation safe threshold without fracture for Absorb was 3.8 mm at 20 atm, for DESolve was 5.0 mm at 20 atm whereas the ML8 did not fracture. For side branch dilatation with a 3.0 mm non-compliant balloon, the threshold before the Absorb fractured was 10 atm whereas the DESolve and ML8 did not fracture at 22 atm. The safe threshold for mini-kissing balloon post-dilatation in 3.0 mm scaffolds/stents with 3.0 mm non-compliant balloons was 5 atm for the Absorb whereas the DESolve and ML8 did not fracture up to 20 atm.

CONCLUSIONS

The metallic stent has thinner struts, lower profile, and greater radial strength than the polymeric scaffolds. Different safe pressure thresholds exist for different scaffolds/stents. Unlike the others, the DESolve showed "self-correction" or enlargement after initial recoil.

Comparative Analysis of Sequential Proximal Optimizing Technique Versus Kissing Balloon Inflation Technique in Provisional Bifurcation Stenting: Fractal Coronary Bifurcation Bench Test

OBJECTIVES

This study used a fractal bifurcation bench model to compare 6 optimization sequences for coronary bifurcation provisional stenting, including 1 novel sequence without kissing balloon inflation (KBI), comprising initial proximal optimizing technique (POT) + side-branch inflation (SBI) + final POT, called "re-POT."

BACKGROUND

In provisional bifurcation stenting, KBI fails to improve the rate of major adverse cardiac events. Proximal geometric deformation increases the rate of in-stent restenosis and target lesion revascularization.

METHODS

A bifurcation bench model was used to compare KBI alone, KBI after POT, KBI with asymmetric inflation pressure after POT, and 2 sequences without KBI: initial POT plus SBI, and initial POT plus SBI with final POT (called "re-POT"). For each protocol, 5 stents were tested using 2 different drug-eluting stent designs: that is, a total of 60 tests.

RESULTS

Compared with the classic KBI-only sequence and those associating POT with modified KBI, the re-POT sequence gave significantly (p < 0.05) better geometric results: it reduced SB ostium stent-strut obstruction from 23.2 ± 6.0% to 5.6 ± 8.3%, provided perfect proximal stent apposition with almost perfect circularity (ellipticity index reduced from 1.23 ± 0.02 to 1.04 ± 0.01), reduced proximal area overstretch from 24.2 ± 7.6% to 8.0 ± 0.4%, and reduced global strut malapposition from 40 ± 6.2% to 2.6 ± 1.4%.

CONCLUSIONS

In comparison with 5 other techniques, the re-POT sequence significantly optimized the final result of provisional coronary bifurcation stenting, maintaining circular geometry while significantly reducing SB ostium strut obstruction and global strut malapposition. These experimental findings confirm that provisional stenting may be optimized more effectively without KBI using re-POT.

Percutaneous coronary intervention for obstructive bifurcation lesions: the 14th consensus document from the European Bifurcation Club

The European Bifurcation Club recommends an approach to a bifurcation stenosis which involves careful assessment, planning and a sequential provisional approach. In the minority of lesions where two stents are required, careful deployment and optimal expansion are essential to achieve a long-term result.

Provisional T-stenting and kissing balloon in the treatment of coronary bifurcation lesions: Results of the French multicenter “TULIPE” study

BACKGROUND

In previous prospective studies, a strategy of (a) stenting of the main branch, (b) provisional T-stenting of the side branch, and (c) final kissing balloon inflation, was associated with high success and low target lesion revascularization (TLR) rates on the long-term.

OBJECTIVES

To examine the performance of this strategy in a multicenter study.

METHODS

Consecutive patients were treated at 14 French medical centers for de novo coronary bifurcation lesions with the same technique used. Immediate results and clinically-driven TLR at 7 months were examined.

RESULTS

The mean reference diameters of the main and side branches were 3.2 +/- 0.6 mm and 2.4 +/- 0.5 mm, respectively. The side branch was stented in 34% of patients. A <30% residual stenosis in the main branch was achieved in 99%, <50% in the side branch in 90%, and both in 89% of procedures. The in-hospital major adverse cardiovascular event were a Q-wave and 5 non-Qwaves MI (0.54% and 2.7%). At 7 months of follow-up, 3 patients (1.76%) had died, 1 suffered a non-Q-wave MI (0.59%), and 28 (15.88%) underwent TLR. By multivariate analysis, a lower left ventricular ejection fraction (OR: 0.934), moderate calcifications (OR: 7.86), and non-use of the "jailed" wire technique (OR: 4.26) were associated with reinterventions during follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

A strategy of provisional T-stenting with a tubular stent and final kissing balloon angioplasty for the treatment of coronary bifurcation lesions was safe and associated with a low TLR rate at 7 months. This strategy should be applicable to the new era of drug eluting stents.

Balloon-Expandable Versus Self-Expanding Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement

Background:

No randomized study powered to compare balloon expandable (BE) with self expanding (SE) transcatheter heart valves (THVs) on individual end points after transcatheter aortic valve replacement has been conducted to date.

Methods:

From January 2013 to December 2015, the FRANCE-TAVI nationwide registry (Registry of Aortic Valve Bioprostheses Established by Catheter) included 12 141 patients undergoing BE-THV (Edwards, n=8038) or SE-THV (Medtronic, n=4103) for treatment of native aortic stenosis. Long term mortality status was available in all patients (median 20 months; interquartile range, 14 to 30). Patients treated with BE-THV (n=3910) were successfully matched 1:1 with 3910 patients treated with SE-THV by using propensity score (25 clinical, anatomical, and procedural variables) and by date of the procedure (within 3 months). The first coprimary outcome was ≥ moderate occurrence of paravalvular regurgitation or in-hospital mortality, or both. The second coprimary outcome was 2-year all-cause mortality.

Results:

In propensity–matched analyses, the incidence of the first coprimary outcome was higher with SE-THV (19.8%) compared with BE-THV (11.9%; relative risk, 1.68 [95% CI, 1.46–1.91]; P <0.0001). Each component of the outcome was also higher in patients receiving SE-THV: ≥ moderate paravalvular regurgitation (15.5% versus 8.3%; relative risk, 1.90 [95% CI, 1.63–2.22]; P <0.0001) and in hospital mortality (5.6% versus 4.2%; relative risk, 1.34 [95% CI, 1.07–1.66]; P =0.01). During follow up, all cause mortality occurred in 899 patients treated with SE-THV (2-year mortality, 29.8%) and in 801 patients treated with BE-THV (2-year mortality, 26.6%; hazard ratio, 1.17 [95% CI, 1.06–1.29]; P =0.003). Similar results were found using inverse probability of treatment weighting using propensity score analysis.

Conclusion:

The present study suggests that use of SE-THV was associated with a higher risk of paravalvular regurgitation and higher in-hospital and 2-year mortality compared with use of BE-THV. These data strongly support the need for a randomized trial sufficiently powered to compare the latest generation of SE-THV and BE-THV.

Clinical Trial Registration:

https://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT01777828.

Percutaneous coronary intervention in left main coronary artery disease: the 13th consensus document from the European Bifurcation Club

The 2017 European Bifurcation Club (EBC) meeting was held in Porto (Portugal) and allowed a multidisciplinary international faculty to review and discuss the latest data collected in the field of coronary bifurcation interventions. In particular, the topic of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) on left main coronary artery (LM) disease was highlighted as a contemporary priority. Herein, we summarise the key LM anatomy features, the diagnostic modalities and available data that are relevant for a patient's procedural management. Since the clinical outcomes of patients undergoing PCI on LM disease may depend on both PCI team organisation and PCI performance, the optimal catheterisation laboratory set-up and the rationales for device and technique selection are critically reviewed. The best lesion preparation modalities, the different DES implantation technique choices and the strategies to be considered during PCI on unprotected LM for optimal PCI results are reviewed step by step.

Treatment of coronary bifurcation lesions, part II: implanting two stents. The 16th expert consensus document of the European Bifurcation Club

The European Bifurcation Club (EBC) supports a continuous review of the field of coronary artery bifurcation interventions and aims to facilitate a scientific discussion and an exchange of ideas on the management of bifurcation disease. The recent focus of meetings and consensus statements has been on the technical issues in bifurcation stenting, recognising that the final result of a bifurcation procedure and the long-term outcome for our patients are strongly influenced by factors, including preprocedural strategy, stenting technique selection, performance of optimal procedural steps, the ability to identify and correct complications and finally, and most important, the overall performance of the operator. Continuous refinement of bifurcation stenting techniques and the promotion of education and training in bifurcation stenting techniques represent a major clinical need. Accordingly, the consensus from the latest EBC meeting in Brussels, October 2021, was to promote education and training in bifurcation stenting based on the EBC principle. Part II of this 16th EBC consensus document aims to provide a step-by-step overview of the pitfalls and technical troubleshooting during the implantation of the second stent either in the provisional stenting (PS) strategy or in upfront 2-stent techniques (e.g., 2-stent PS pathway and double kissing crush stenting). Finally, a detailed overview and discussion of the numerous modalities available to provide continuous education and technical training in bifurcation stenting techniques are discussed, with consideration of their future application in enhancing training and practice in coronary bifurcation lesion treatment.

6- Versus 24-Month Dual Antiplatelet Therapy After Implantation of Drug-Eluting Stents in Patients Nonresistant to Aspirin: Final Results of the ITALIC Trial (Is There a Life for DES After Discontinuation of Clopidogrel)

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that 6-month dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) is noninferior to 24-month DAPT in aspirin-sensitive patients.

BACKGROUND

The ITALIC (Is There a Life for DES After Discontinuation of Clopidogrel) trial showed that rates of bleeding and thrombotic events at 1 year were much the same with 6 versus 12 months of DAPT after percutaneous coronary intervention with second-generation drug-eluting stents. In this report, 2-year follow-up is presented.

METHODS

In a multicenter randomized study, patients with confirmed nonresistance to aspirin undergoing drug-eluting stent implantation were allocated to 6 or 24 months of DAPT. The primary endpoint was a composite of death, myocardial infarction, urgent target vessel revascularization, stroke, and major bleeding at 12 months post-percutaneous coronary intervention. The secondary endpoints comprised the same composite endpoint at 24 months and each individual component.

RESULTS

Overall, 2,031 patients from 70 centers were screened; 926 were randomized to 6-month and 924 to 24-month DAPT. Noninferiority was demonstrated for 6- versus 12-month DAPT, with an absolute risk difference of 0.11% (95% confidence interval: -1.04% to 1.26%; p = 0.0002). At 2 years, the composite endpoint was unchanged, at 3.5% for 6 months and 3.7% for 24 months (p = 0.79), and rates of myocardial infarction (1.3% vs. 1.0%; p = 0.51), stroke (0.6% vs. 0.8%; p = 0.77), and target vessel revascularization (1.0% vs. 0.3%; p = 0.09) were likewise similar. There was a trend toward higher mortality with longer DAPT (2.2% vs. 1.2%; p = 0.11). Four patients (0.4%) in the 24-month group and none in the 6-month group had major bleeding.

CONCLUSIONS

Two-year outcomes in the ITALIC trial confirmed the 1-year results and showed that patients receiving 6-month DAPT after percutaneous coronary intervention with second-generation drug-eluting stent have similar outcomes to those receiving 24-month DAPT.

Definitions and Standardized Endpoints for Treatment of Coronary Bifurcations

The Bifurcation Academic Research Consortium (Bif-ARC) project originated from the need to overcome the paucity of standardization and comparability between studies involving bifurcation coronary lesions. This document is the result of a collaborative effort between academic research organizations and the most renowned interventional cardiology societies focused on bifurcation lesions in Europe, the United States, and Asia. This consensus provides standardized definitions for bifurcation lesions; the criteria to judge the side branch relevance; the procedural, mechanistic, and clinical endpoints for every type of bifurcation study; and the follow-up methods. Considering the complexity of bifurcation lesions and their evaluation, detailed instructions and technical aspects for site and core laboratory analysis of bifurcation lesions are also reported. The recommendations included within this consensus will facilitate pooled analyses and the effective comparison of data in the future, improving the clinical relevance of trials in bifurcation lesions, and the quality of care in this subset of patients.

Bench testing and coronary artery bifurcations: a consensus document from the European Bifurcation Club

This is a consensus document from the European Bifurcation Club concerning bench testing in coronary artery bifurcations. It is intended to provide guidelines for bench assessment of stents and other strategies in coronary bifurcation treatment where the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or International Organization for Standardization (ISO) guidelines are limited or absent. These recommendations provide guidelines rather than a step-by-step manual. We provide data on the anatomy of bifurcations and elastic response of coronary arteries to aid model construction. We discuss testing apparatus, bench testing endpoints and bifurcation nomenclature.

Sequential Proximal Optimizing Technique in Provisional Bifurcation Stenting With Everolimus-Eluting Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold: Fractal Coronary Bifurcation Bench for Comparative Test Between Absorb and XIENCE Xpedition

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this fractal bifurcation bench study was to compare provisional bifurcation stenting with a "re-POT" sequence, comprising a proximal optimizing technique (POT), side branch inflation, and final POT, between a bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) and a metallic stent.

BACKGROUND

Re-POT proved significantly better than kissing balloon inflation in maintaining circular geometry without overstretch in metal stents, while significantly reducing side branch ostium strut obstruction and global strut malapposition. This should be useful for BVSs, which are more easily breakable.

METHODS

Twenty left main-like and 20 left anterior descending-like fractal coronary bifurcation bench models used 10 each 2.5 × 24 mm and 3.5 × 24 mm Absorb (Ab) BVSs and 10 each 2.5 × 24 mm and 3.5 × 24 mm XIENCE Xpedition (XX) metal stents, implanted by re-POT, with optical coherence tomographic analysis at each step and micro-computed tomographic analysis of Ab devices to detect strut fracture.

RESULTS

With Ab devices, re-POT reduced percentage strut malapposition close to XX rates (0.8 ± 0.7% vs. 0.0 ± 0.0%, p < 0.05; 3.5 ± 1.7% vs. 0.3 ± 0.6%, p < 0.05), conserving proximal circularity (elliptical ratio, 1.04 vs. 1.03 and 1.04 vs. 1.04; p = NS). Mean post-re-POT proximal expansion was 0.6 ± 0.1 mm (+21.6 ± 2.1%) for 2.5-mm and 1.0 ± 0.1 mm (+23.6 ± 2.2%) for 3.5-mm Ab devices, with only 1 strut fracture (left anterior descending-like bench). Side branch ostium strut obstruction was greater with Ab scaffolds than XX stents: 41.1 ± 9.4% versus 16.4 ± 8.1% (p < 0.05) and 31.8 ± 3.2% versus 10.0 ± 5.3% (p < 0.05), respectively, for 2.5- and 3.5-mm scaffolds and stents. Ab scaffolds showed 2 ± 1% moderate but significant late recoil as of 1 h, reaching 4 ± 2% by 24 h (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Re-POT optimized most Ab provisional bifurcation treatments, without fracture, respecting fractal geometry, and without exceeding 1.0-mm proximal differential diameter.