Polymer-free biolimus-A9-coated stent for primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: The polymer-free biolimus-A9 drug-coated stent (DCS) was reported to have superior safety and efficacy outcomes compared with a bare metal stent in the LEADERS FREE trial of high-bleeding-risk patients with acute coronary syndrome and on dual antiplatelet treatment (DAPT) for 1 month. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the DCS in a consecutive cohort of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). METHODS: We analyzed data from 164 consecutive STEMI patients who underwent PPCI using the DCS at our institution. The primary efficacy endpoint was clinically indicated target lesion revascularization (ciTLR); the primary safety endpoint was a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, and definite/probable stent thrombosis. Clinical outcomes at 1 year are presented here. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 61.5 ± 15.5 years, and 86.6% were male. The median symptom-to-balloon-time was 55 min. In 57.9% of patients (n = 95), the infarct had an anterior location. PPCI achieved Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) grade 3 flow in 163 of 164 patients (99.4%). All patients were prescribed DAPT for 1 year. At 1 year, ciTLR occurred in 1.2% of patients, the primary safety endpoint was reached in 4.3% of patients, and definite stent thrombosis was noted in 0.6% of patients. CONCLUSION: In this consecutive real-world cohort of patients, the DCS was safe and efficacious when used for PPCI in patients with STEMI.

Treatment with 48-mm everolimus-eluting stents : Procedural safety and 12-month patient outcome.

BACKGROUND: Lesion length is a major predictor of adverse outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention. Long lesions often require multiple stents with variable overlap, which increases the probability of geographical miss and the incidence of mechanical complications, such as side-branch occlusion, restenosis, and stent thrombosis. These pitfalls may be avoided by use of an ultra-long device. METHODS: We retrospectively assessed the performance of the 48-mm Xience Xpedition everolimus-eluting stent (EES) at our institution. RESULTS: A total of 123 patients (mean age: 60.94 years, n = 93 [76%] male) with 129 lesions were identified. Lesions (n = 69, 53.5%) were located in the left anterior descending artery, the right coronary artery (n = 47, 36.4%), and the circumflex artery (n = 8, 6.2%); 83 lesions involved a major side branch. The majority were treated with a provisional single-stent strategy. Other characteristics included significant tortuosity in 15 lesions (11.6%) and moderate-to-heavy calcification in 46 lesions (35.7%). In all cases, balloon pre-dilatation was performed before stent insertion. Successful delivery and deployment of the 48-mm EES device was achieved in 100% of the patients. The mean number of stents per lesion was 1.4, while the mean total stent length was 58 ± 17.3 mm and mean stent diameter, 3.00 ± 0.67 mm. The procedural success rate was 99.2%. The 30-day major cardiac adverse event (MACE) rate was 0.8%, while the 12-month MACE was 3.3%. CONCLUSION: The Xience 48-mm EES device appears to be safe and efficacious with a low clinical event rate at the 12-month follow-up. Where feasible, this would support the use of the ultra-long 48-mm platform in lieu of multiple overlapping shorter devices.