Clinical Implications of Bifurcation Angles in Left Main Bifurcation Intervention Using a Two-Stent Technique.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess the clinical impact of 3 bifurcation angles in left main (LM) bifurcation treated with the 2-stent technique. BACKGROUND: Data are limited regarding the impact of bifurcation angles after LM percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: Using patient-level 4 multicenter registries in Korea, 462 patients undergoing LM bifurcation PCI with the 2-stent technique were identified (181 crush, 167 T-stenting; 63% 1st generation drug-eluting stent (DES), 37% 2nd generation DES). Three bifurcation angles, between the LM and left anterior descending (LAD), the LM and left circumflex (LCX), and the LAD and LCX, were measured. The primary outcome was target lesion failure (TLF), a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, and target lesion revascularization (TLR). RESULTS: In patients treated with the crush technique, the best cutoff value (BCV) to predict TLF was 152° of the LM-LAD angle. In the crush group, a significantly higher TLF rate, mostly driven by TLR, was observed in the LM-LAD angle ≥152° group compared with the <152° group (35.7% vs. 14.6%; adjusted hazard ratio 3.476; 95% confidence interval 1.612-7.492). An LM-LAD angle ≥152° was an independent predictor of TLF. In the T-stenting, no bifurcation angle affected the clinical outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: In LM bifurcation PCI using the 2-stent technique, wide LM-LAD angle (≥152°) was associated with a greater risk of TLF in the crush, whereas none of the bifurcation angles affected T-stenting outcomes.

Adherence to triple-component antihypertensive regimens is higher with single-pill than equivalent two-pill regimens: A randomized controlled trial.

Using a single-pill combination (SPC) for hypertension (HTN) treatment resulted in better adherence and persistence than a free-equivalent combination in previous observational studies. The aim of this study is to confirm superior adherence with a triple-component SPC compared with an equivalent two-pill regimen in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) using a medication event monitoring system (MEMS). This is a multicenter, open-label, RCT. Subjects were persons with HTN whose clinic blood pressure was not adequately controlled (systolic >140 mmHg or diastolic >90 mmHg) with a dual combination. Eligible patients were randomized to either the triple-component SPC (olmesartan/amlodipine/hydrochlorothiazide 20/5/12.5 mg) group or the equivalent two-pill (olmesartan/hydrochlorothiazide 20/12.5 mg + amlodipine 5 mg) group and maintained for 12 weeks. Primary outcomes were the difference in percentage of doses taken (PDT) and percentage of days with the prescribed dose taken correctly (PDTc) between the single- and two-pill therapy groups, calculated from MEMS data. From 8 hospitals, 145 patients with HTN were randomized. The single-pill group had significantly higher PDT and PDTc than the two-pill group: median (25-75 percentile) PDT 95.1 (86.7-100.0) versus 92.1 (73.0-97.3); and PDTc 91.0 (79.4-96.5) versus 88.6 (69.2-96.3%), P = 0.04 for both by the Wilcoxon rank sum test. The single-pill combination of the triple-component antihypertensive regimen showed better adherence than the equivalent two-pill therapy. Reducing pill burden by means of a single-pill combination is an effective strategy for enhancing adherence to multiple-agent antihypertensive therapy. Study Highlights WHAT IS THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE ON THE TOPIC? Previous studies suggested that the use of a single-pill combination (SPC) in hypertension (HTN) treatment produced better adherence and persistence than a free-equivalent combination. However, supportive data are confined to dual-component SPC and came from observational studies using medication possession ratio as an outcome. WHAT QUESTION DID THIS STUDY ADDRESS? The objective of this study is to investigate whether a triple-component SPC improved medication adherence over an equivalent two-pill combination therapy in a randomized controlled trial using medication event monitoring systems. WHAT DOES THIS STUDY ADD TO OUR KNOWLEDGE? Medication adherence in the SPC group was superior to that of two-pill group, confirming previous findings from observational studies. HOW MIGHT THIS CHANGE CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY OR TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE? This finding strongly supports the current HTN treatment guideline to prefer SPC with a higher level of evidence.

Influence of target vessel on prognostic relevance of fractional flow reserve after coronary stenting.

AIMS: We sought to investigate the influence of the target vessel on the prognostic relevance of fractional flow reserve (FFR) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 835 patients with available FFR after second-generation drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation were included in this study. The primary outcome was target-vessel failure (TVF), including cardiac death, target vessel-related myocardial infarction, and clinically driven target vessel revascularisation. The target vessel was the left anterior descending artery (LAD) in 603 patients (72.2%) and non-LAD in 232 patients (27.8%). The distribution pattern of post-PCI FFR values was different between the LAD and non-LAD (p<0.001). The optimal cut-off values of post-PCI FFR for predicting TVF were 0.82 and 0.88 in the LAD and non-LAD, respectively. The cumulative incidence of TVF was significantly higher in patients with lower post-PCI FFR than each cut-off value (10.9% vs. 2.5%, hazard ratio [HR] 4.08, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.63-6.34, p<0.001 in LAD; 8.0% vs. 1.9%, HR 6.00, 95% CI: 1.78-20.26, p=0.004 in non-LAD). CONCLUSIONS: Higher post-PCI FFR after second-generation DES implantation was associated with better clinical outcomes. Different cut-off values of post-PCI FFR need to be applied according to the target vessel. ClinicalTrials Identifier: NCT01873560.

Efficacy and safety of pitavastatins in patients with acute myocardial infarction: Livalo in Acute Myocardial Infarction Study (LAMIS) II.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: We evaluated the efficacy and safety and influence on glucose tolerance by different doses of pitavastatins in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients. METHODS: Consecutive 1,101 AMI patients who were enrolled in Livalo in Acute Myocardial Infarction Study (LAMIS)-II were randomly assigned to receive either 2 mg of pitavastatin or 4 mg of pitavastatin orally per day. Primary efficacy endpoint was composite of cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, target-lesion revascularization, and hospitalization for unstable angina, heart failure or arrhythmic events at 12-month. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in primary efficacy endpoint between 2 mg and 4 mg groups (9.07% vs. 9.13%, p = 0.976). The degree of the reduction of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) was significantly greater in 4 mg group compared to 2 mg group from baseline to follow-up (-42.05 ± 32.73 mg/dL vs. -34.23 ± 31.66 mg/dL, p = 0.002). Fasting plasma glucose level was reduced significantly in both groups (-20.16 ± 54.49 mg/dL in 4 mg group and -24.45 ± 63.88 mg/dL in 2 mg group, p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively) and there was no significant change of glycated hemoglobin in two groups from baseline to follow-up (-0.13% ± 1.21% in 4 mg group and -0.04% ± 1.10% in 2 mg group, p = 0.256 and p = 0.671, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Although LDL-C was reduced more significantly by using 4 mg of pitavastatin compared to 2 mg of pitavastatin, the event rate was comparable without adverse effects on glucose tolerance in both groups in AMI patients who were enrolled in LAMIS-II.

High-dose atorvastatin for preventing contrast-induced nephropathy in primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

AIMS: To evaluate the efficacy of high-dose atorvastatin on contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) occurrence in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary angioplasty. METHODS: We studied whether 80  mg atorvastatin loading and its subsequent use for 5 days (high-dose group) could prevent CIN as compared to those who received 10  mg atorvastatin (regular-dose group) in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary angioplasty. The primary endpoint was incidence of CIN, defined as an at least 25% or at least 0.5  mg/dl increase in baseline serum creatinine within 5 days after contrast administration. The secondary endpoint was an in-hospital 1 and 6-month renal function change, and a composite of all-cause mortality, myocardial infarction, renal failure requiring dialysis, heart failure, and target vessel revascularization. RESULTS: One hundred and ten patients were allocated to high dose and 108 to regular dose from August 2007 to February 2009. CIN incidence was 5.5% (6/110) in the high-dose group and 10.2% (11/108) in the regular-dose group, which is a nonsignificant difference (P = 0.193). CIN occurred significantly less in the high-dose than in the regular-dose group in subgroups of renal insufficiency (creatinine clearance ≤60  ml/min) [0% (0/28) vs. 16.7% (5/30); P = 0.024] and in the elderly patients who were at least 70 years old [4% (1/25) and 23.1% (6/26); P = 0.048]. Serum creatinine level tended to decrease in the high-dose group and increase in the regular-dose group, but the change was not statistically different (P = 0.093). The composite of clinical outcomes at 6 months was comparable in the high-dose and regular-dose groups (7.9 and 13.1%; P = 0.26). CONCLUSION: High-dose atorvastatin pretreatment does not seem to prevent CIN in patients receiving primary angioplasty. However, it has the potential to lower CIN in patients with renal insufficiency and in the elderly.