Balloon aortic valvuloplasty bridge to transcatheter aortic valve replacement is associated with worse in-hospital mortality.

BACKGROUND: Balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) has gained renewed interest as a bridge to transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for patients with aortic stenosis (AS). However, it is unclear whether they patients should undergo TAVR directly or receive a staged bridge to BAV before TAVR is unclear. We used a national database to examine the association between BAV and TAVR in patients with TAVR and its effect on in-hospital mortality. METHODS: Using the nationwide inpatient database of the Japanese registry of all cardiac and vascular diseases and the combination of the diagnosis procedure combination, we retrospectively analyzed 27,600 patients with AS who underwent TAVR between October 2013 and March 2021. Outcomes of the direct TAVR group (n = 27,387) were compared with those of the BAV bridge to TAVR group (n = 213), which received BAV at least 1 day before TAVR. RESULTS: The median age was 85 (interquartile range: 82-88) years, with 33.3% (n = 9188) being male. Unplanned/emergent admissions increased with TAVR, whereas the use of BAV bridge to TAVR decreased. The in-hospital mortality rate was 1.3% and decreased over time. However, the BAV bridge to TAVR had a significantly higher in-hospital mortality than direct TAVR (5.6% vs. 1.3%; p < .0001). Factors associated with in-hospital mortality included age, body mass index, chronic renal disease, percutaneous coronary intervention, and BAV bridge to TAVR. CONCLUSIONS: In unplanned/emergent and planned admission settings, the in-hospital mortality rate for BAV bridge to TAVR is worse than that for direct TAVR. Practical criteria for BAV bridge to TAVR should be proposed to improve outcomes.

Usefulness of catheter pressure measurement using the Navvus RXi system to determine left ventricular outflow tract obstruction and aortic stenosis severity: a case report.

Background: Left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (LVOTO) sometimes presents with aortic stenosis (AS). Echocardiography is used to assess the diagnosis and severity of LVOTO or AS. However, LVOTO is one of the conditions that makes AS assessment difficult, and catheter pressure measurement is frequently useful in such cases. Case summary: An 84-year-old female patient presented with New York Heart Association functional Class III dyspnoea. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed LVOTO caused by upper septal hypertrophy, mitral valve systolic anterior motion with moderate mitral regurgitation, and a highly calcified aortic valve, which suggested the possibility of severe AS. The continuous Doppler echocardiography revealed a late-systolic peaking dagger-shaped profile with a peak jet velocity of 5.6 m/s. Cardiac catheterization was performed to determine the contribution of AS or LVOTO to her symptoms. Catheter pressures were measured at the ascending aorta (using a coronary catheter) and the LV (using the Navvus RXi system). The initial mean pressure gradient between the apex of the LV, just below the aortic valve and aorta, was measured at 65 and 25 mmHg, respectively. The mean pressure gradient between the apex and the aorta decreased from 65 to 40 mmHg after a 50 mg disopyramide administration. Oral medication therapy effectively stabilized her symptom after catheterization. Discussion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of assessing the severity of LVOTO and AS using the Navvus RXi system. Catheter pressure measurement using the Navvus RXi system is a useful method of determining the severity of LVOTO and AS.

Mid-term results of stent-less coronary intervention using rotational atherectomy and drug-coated balloon for de-novo lesions in hemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND: Although drug-coated balloon (DCB)-based stent-less percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for de-novo lesions has attracted more attention, outcomes of the DCB procedure for hemodialysis (HD) patients are reported to be inferior to those for non-HD patients, similarly to drug-eluting stent (DES). Recent several reports have shown that rotational atherectomy (RA) followed by DCB treatment (RA/DCB) could be an option of revascularization strategy particularly for calcified de-novo lesions even in the new-generation DES era; however, efficacy of the RA/DCB procedure for HD patients remains unclear. METHODS: A total of 47 consecutive cases (53 lesions) undergoing RA/DCB for de-novo lesions were enrolled. According to the presence/absence of HD at baseline, the 47 cases were divided into the HD cases (N.=16) and the non-HD cases (N.=31), and the 53 lesions were divided into the HD lesions (N.=20) and the non-HD lesions (N.=33). RESULTS: The HD cases had a significantly lower prevalence of dyslipidemia and smoking than the non-HD cases. Final RA burr size, DCB diameter used, and angiographic success rate of PCI did not significantly differ between the 2 groups. Preprocedural, post-procedural, and follow-up QCA parameters were also similar between the 2 groups. Twelve-month clinical outcomes were comparable between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: Mid-term outcomes of stent-less PCI using RA/DCB for de-novo lesions in HD patients might be comparable to those in non-HD patients, suggesting efficacy of pretreatment of RA prior to DCB treatment in HD patients.

Stentless Interventional Procedure Using Rotational Atherectomy and Drug-Coated Balloon for Noncalcified De Novo Lesions.

BACKGROUND: Several recent reports have shown that a stentless interventional procedure using rotational atherectomy followed by drug-coated balloon (DCB) treatment (RA/DCB) is a potent revascularization therapy for calcified de novo lesions even in the new-generation drug-eluting stent era; however, the role of the RA/DCB procedure for noncalcified de novo lesions remains unclear. METHODS: A total of 47 consecutive patients (53 lesions) who underwent RA/DCB for coronary de novo lesions were enrolled. According to the presence or absence of severe calcification at target lesions on fluoroscopy, the 47 patients were divided into the noncalcified cases (n = 12) and the calcified cases (n = 35), and the 53 lesions were divided into the noncalcified lesions (n = 14) and the calcified lesions (n = 39). RESULTS: The noncalcified cases tended to have a higher frequency of bleeding risk and had a significantly lower prevalence of dual antiplatelet therapy compared with the calcified cases. The main lesion-specific factors for the RA/DCB procedure among the noncalcified lesions were presence of left circumflex coronary artery ostial lesion. The final burr size, DCB diameter used, and angiographic success rate did not significantly differ between the 2 groups. The noncalcified lesions had a larger reference diameter and a shorter lesion length than the calcified lesions, whereas acute gain and late lumen loss did not differ between the 2 groups. Nine-month clinical outcomes were comparable between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: Under drug-eluting stent-unsuitable clinical or lesion conditions, acute and midterm outcomes of RA/DCB for noncalcified de novo lesions might be comparable with those for calcified de novo lesions.

CONTEXTE: Plusieurs rapports récents ont montré qu'une revascularisation sans endoprothèse effectuée par athérectomie rotationnelle (AR) suivie d'un traitement par ballonnet médicamenté (BM) constitue une méthode efficace pour traiter les nouvelles lésions calcifiées, même à l'ère des endoprothèses médicamentées de nouvelle génération; on ne connaît toutefois pas bien l'utilité de l'intervention par AR et BM en cas de nouvelles lésions non calcifiées. MÉTHODOLOGIE: Au total, 47 patients consécutifs (53 lésions) ayant subi une intervention par AR et BM pour traiter de nouvelles lésions coronariennes ont été admis dans l'étude. Ces 47 patients ont été répartis en deux groupes, en fonction de l'absence (n = 12) ou de la présence (n = 35) de lésions . cibles sévèrement calcifiées observées à la fluoroscopie. Les 53 lésions ont aussi été réparties en deux groupes : lésions non calcifiées (n = 14) et lésions calcifiées (n = 39). RÉSULTATS: Les patients n'ayant pas de lésion calcifiée étaient généralement plus susceptibles de présenter des saignements et significativement moins nombreux à être sous bithérapie antiplaquettaire, comparativement aux patients ayant des lésions calcifiées. Dans le cas des lésions non calcifiées, la principale caractéristique justifiant une AR et un traitement par BM était la présence d'une lésion ostiale du rameau circonflexe de l'artère coronaire gauche. La taille de la dernière fraise utilisée, le diamètre du BM utilisé et le taux de réussite objectivée par angiographie étaient comparables dans les deux groupes. Les lésions non calcifiées avaient un diamètre de référence plus grand et étaient plus courtes que les lésions calcifiées, tandis que le gain aigu et la perte luminale tardive étaient similaires dans les deux groupes. Les résultats cliniques à neuf mois étaient aussi similaires dans les deux groupes. CONCLUSIONS: Lorsque les conditions cliniques ou les lésions ne se prêtent pas à l'utilisation d'une endoprothèse médicamentée, le traitement des nouvelles lésions non calcifiées par AR et BM pourrait donner des résultats immédiats et à moyen terme comparables à ceux du traitement des nouvelles lésions calcifiées.

Angiographic and Clinical Outcomes After Stent-less Coronary Intervention Using Rotational Atherectomy and Drug-Coated Balloon in Patients with De Novo Lesions.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated angiographic and clinical outcomes in patients with de novo lesions undergoing rotational atherectomy (RA) followed by drug-coated balloon (DCB) dilation (RA/DCB). BACKGROUND: Implantation of drug-eluting stent (DES) has been a mainstay of the interventional treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD); however, there still remain several DES-unsuitable clinical/lesion conditions. Nowadays DCB for de novo lesions has attracted more attention, and RA, which tends not to cause major dissection but to debulk intima, might be one of suitable pre-treatments before DCB. METHODS AND RESULTS: Thirty patients (34 lesions) undergoing RA/DCB for de novo lesions were enrolled. Clinical/lesion background included severe calcification, calcified nodule, inlet/outlet of aneurysm, ostial lesion, severe thrombocytopenia, bleeding tendency, and/or sequelae of Kawasaki disease. The largest burr size used was 1.83 ±â€¯0.23 mm, and the mean DCB diameter was 2.71 ±â€¯0.47 mm. Angiographic success was obtained in 94% of the lesions. No acute closure but 1 no reflow occurred. Repeat angiography (mean, 6.6 months after procedure) was performed for 19 lesions. Frequency of binary restenosis was 21.1%, and late lumen loss was 0.34 ±â€¯0.30 mm. During a mean follow-up period of 13.1 months, 6 deaths (2 sudden deaths, 1 cardiac death, 3 non-cardiac deaths), 2 strokes, and 2 target lesion revascularizations were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Stent-less PCI using RA/DCB might be an alternative revascularization therapy for CAD patients complicated with DES-unsuitable conditions.