A randomised trial of paclitaxel-eluting balloon after bare metal stent implantation vs. bare metal stent in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (the PEBSI study).

AIMS: Our aim was to assess the safety and efficacy of paclitaxel-eluting balloon (PTX-B) treatment after bare metal stent (BMS) implantation in patients undergoing primary angioplasty. METHODS AND RESULTS: After BMS implantation, patients were randomised (1:1) to treatment with a PTX-B or no PTX-B treatment (BMS group). The primary endpoint was in-stent late luminal loss (LLL) at nine-month follow-up. OCT was carried out on the first 20% of consecutive patients included in the study. Two hundred and twenty-three patients were randomised (BMS: 112, PTX-B: 111). At nine months, median LLL was 0.80 mm (interquartile range [IQR] 0.36-1.26) in the BMS group vs. 0.31 mm (IQR 0.00-0.58) in the PTX-B group, p<0.0001. Binary restenosis was significantly lower in the PTX-B group: 29.8% vs. 2.2%, p<0.0001, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.2-54.2. Nine-month OCT showed good strut coverage in both groups but greater in the BMS group (100±0.0% vs. 99.52±1.11%, p=0.03) with very low rates of malapposed struts per lesion. One-year MACE was significantly lower in the PTX-B group (12.5% vs. 3.6%, p=0.016). CONCLUSIONS: PTX-B after successful BMS implantation resulted in less LLL and better clinical outcomes as compared with a BMS-only strategy. This was associated with good stent strut coverage and very low rates of malapposed struts.

Puncture Versus Surgical Cutdown Complications of Transfemoral Aortic Valve Implantation (from the Spanish TAVI Registry).

Vascular complications in transcatheter aortic valve implantation using transfemoral approach are related to higher mortality. Complete percutaneous approach is currently the preferred technique for vascular access. However, some centers still perform surgical cutdown. Our purpose was to determine complications related to vascular access technique in the population of the Spanish TAVI National Registry. From January 2010 to July 2015, 3,046 patients were included in this Registry. Of them, 2,465 underwent transfemoral approach and were treated with either surgical cutdown and closure (cutdown group, n = 632) or percutaneous approach (puncture group, n = 1,833). Valve Academic Research Consortium-2 definitions were used to assess vascular and bleeding complications. Propensity matching resulted in 615 matched pairs. Overall, 30-day vascular complications were significantly higher in the puncture group (109 [18%] vs 42 [6.9%]; relative risk [RR] 2.60; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.85 to 3.64, p <0.001) due mostly by minor vascular events (89 [15%] vs 25 [4.1%], RR 3.56, 95% CI 2.32 to 5.47, p <0.001). Bleeding rates were lower in the puncture group (18 [3%] vs 40 [6.6%], RR 0.45, 95% CI 0.26 to 0.78, p = 0.003) mainly driven by major bleeding (9 [1.5%] vs 21 [3.4%], RR 0.43, 95% CI 0.20 to 0.93, p = 0.03). At a mean follow-up of 323 days, complication rates remained significantly different between groups (minor vascular complications 90 [15%] vs 31 [5.1%], hazard ratio 2.99, 95% CI 1.99 to 4.50, p <0.001 and major bleeding 10 [1.6%] vs 21 [3.4%], hazard ratio 0.47, 95% CI 0.22 to 1.0, p = 0.04, puncture versus cutdown group, respectively). In conclusion, percutaneous approach yielded higher rates of minor vascular complications but lower rates of major bleeding compared with the surgical cutdown, both at 30-day and at mid-term follow-up in our population.

A Mediterranean dietary style influences TNF-alpha and VCAM-1 coronary blood levels in unstable angina patients.

BACKGROUND: A Mediterranean dietary pattern has been associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease, as well as a reduction of oxidative stress, but studies indicating possible interactions between food intake and inflammatory mediators production at specific sites are lacking. AIM OF THE STUDY: To assess the relationship between Mediterranean diet consumption and inflammatory related molecules production in coronary vessels. METHODS: A previously reported Mediterranean-diet score was computed summing-up the quintiles of eight dietary components from a validated food frequency questionnaire in 24 patients with unstable angina. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) and vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM-1) concentrations were measured in coronary sinus blood. RESULTS: Both biomarkers showed an inverse association with the Mediterraneandiet score. The association between VCAM-1 and the Mediterranean-diet score had an adjusted beta coefficient of -35.1 ng/ml (95% coefficient interval, CI: -63.5 to -6.7). The adjusted beta coefficient using TNF-alpha as the dependent variable was -41.6 pg/ml (95 % CI: -76.2 to -7.1). The consumption of olive oil as a single item showed a significant inverse association, and a Mediterranean-diet score excluding olive oil was also inversely associated with TNF-alpha and VCAM-1 serum levels in coronary venous blood. CONCLUSIONS: Adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern may protect against coronary artery wall production of inflammatory mediators. This finding could provide a novel mechanistic explanation for the recognized lower coronary risk associated with a Mediterranean diet.

Therapeutic implications of in-stent restenosis located at the stent edge. Insights from the restenosis intra-stent balloon angioplasty versus elective stenting (RIBS) randomized trial.

AIMS: In patients with in-stent restenosis (ISR) several anatomic subgroups have been identified. ISR affecting the stent edge (EDG) is a poorly characterised subgroup with undefined therapeutic implications. We sought to determine the implications of ISR affecting the stent EDG. METHODS AND RESULTS: 450 patients included in the "Restenosis Intra-stent: Balloon angioplasty vs elective Stenting" (RIBS) randomized study, were analysed. EDG ISR was predefined in the protocol and the pattern of ISR analysed in a centralized core-lab. Fifty-two patients (12%) had EDG ISR (29 stent group, 23 balloon arm). Patients with EDG ISR had less severe [minimal lumen diameter (MLD) (0.78+/-0.3 vs 0.66+/-0.3 mm, p=0.05)] and shorter lesions (lesion length 10.2+/-6 vs 13.2+/-7 mm, p=0.003). Patients with EDG ISR more frequently required crossover (12% vs 3%, p=0.006) but eventually the immediate angiographic result and the long-term clinical and angiographic outcome was similar to that found in patients without EDG ISR. Patients with EDG ISR treated in the balloon and stent arms had similar baseline characteristics. However, after intervention, the immediate angiographic result was better in the stent arm (MLD 2.79+/-0.4 vs 2.35+/-0.3 mm, p=0.001). This difference persisted at late follow-up: MLD (1.93+/-0.7 vs 1.39+/-0.7 mm, p=0.01), recurrent restenosis (20% vs 50%, p=0.03). In addition, the 1-year event-free survival was significantly better (83% vs 52%, log rank p=0.01; Cox HR 0.28, 95%CI 0.09-0.79) in the stent arm. Moreover, stent implantation was an independent predictor of freedom from target vessel revascularization (HR 0.15, 95%CI 0.03-0.67, p=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: EDG ISR constitutes a specific subgroup with relevant therapeutic implications. In patients with EDG ISR, repeat stent implantation provides better clinical and angiographic outcome than conventional balloon angioplasty.