Assessment of distance to primary percutaneous coronary intervention centres in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: Overcoming inequalities with process mining tools.

Objectives: In ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), time delay between symptom onset and treatment is critical to improve outcome. The expected transport delay between patient location and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) centre is paramount for choosing the adequate reperfusion therapy. The "Centro" region of Portugal has heterogeneity in PCI assess due to geographical reasons. We aimed to explore time delays between regions using process mining tools. Methods: Retrospective observational analysis of patients with STEMI from the Portuguese Registry of Acute Coronary Syndromes. We collected information on geographical area of symptom onset, reperfusion option, and in-hospital mortality. We built a national and a regional patient's flow models by using a process mining methodology based on parallel activity-based log inference algorithm. Results: Totally, 8956 patients (75% male, 48% from 51 to 70 years) were included in the national model. Most patients (73%) had primary PCI, with the median time between admission and treatment <120 minutes in every region; "Centro" had the longest delay. In the regional model corresponding to the "Centro" region of Portugal divided by districts, only 61% had primary PCI, with "Guarda" (05:04) and "Castelo Branco" (06:50) showing longer delays between diagnosis and reperfusion than "Coimbra" (01:19). For both models, in-hospital mortality was higher for those without reperfusion therapy compared to PCI and fibrinolysis. Conclusion: Process mining tools help to understand referencing networks visually, easily highlighting its inefficiencies and potential needs for improvement. A new PCI centre in the "Centro" region is critical to offer timely first-line treatment to their population.

Evaluation of the pharmacotherapeutic follow-up effectiveness in patients with dyslipidemia in the secondary health care in the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS)

Abstract Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are one of the main causes of mortality in the world. Dyslipidemia treatment can reduce the number of deaths caused by CVD, by decreasing the lipid profile. Evaluate the pharmacotherapeutic follow-up effectiveness in patients with dyslipidemia, regarding clinical and laboratory aspects. A quasi-experimental trial was performed in 12 months. The studied population was included patients with dyslipidemia who received a pharmacotherapeutic follow-up, which was evaluated according to the Pharmacotherapy Workup developed by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Clinical and laboratory evaluations were performed at the baseline, after a 6 and 12-months period. The statistical analyzes were performed with the normality test of Lilliefors, Cramer Von Misses, and Anderson Darling, later the t-paired test. This study demonstrated that after 6-months of intervention, statistically significant results were verified in the reduction of LDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol, increase in HDL-cholesterol, and reduction in the blood pressure. It was observed that for high-risk patients, the achievement of targets in the lipid profile and HbA1C occurred only after 12-months, because, this population needs more aggressive targets and expressive interventions. Pharmacotherapeutic follow-up in patients with dyslipidemia reduced lipid blood levels and promoted positive clinical and laboratory outcomes.

Apontamentos sobre a dimensão territorial da pandemia da Covid-19 e os fatores que contribuem para aumentar a vulnerabilidade socioespacial nas unidades de desenvolvimento humano de áreas metropolitanas brasileiras / Nota Técnica n. 15 (Dirur): Apontamentos sobre a dimensão territorial da pandemia da Covid-19 e os fatores que contribuem para aumentar a vulnerabilidade socioespacial nas unidades de desenvolvimento humano de áreas metropolitanas brasileira / Português

A nota explora a associação entre as características socioeconômicas, demográficas e as condições de infraestrutura urbana dos espaços urbanos e a vulnerabilidade à contaminação pela Covid-19, propondo a identificação e o mapeamento do grau de vulnerabilidade socioespacial à contaminação pela Covid-19.

Judicialização do acesso a medicamentos no município de Ivinhema, Mato Grosso do Sul / Judicialization of access to medicines in the municipality of Ivinhema, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil / Judicialización del acceso a medicamentos en la ciudad de Ivinhema, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil

Objetivo: conhecer o perfil das requisições de medicamentos na esfera administrativa, recebidas pela Secretaria de Saúde do Município de Ivinhema, Mato Grosso do Sul, no ano de 2017. Métodos: estudo descritivo, retrospectivo, com foco em base documental. Definiuse como universo da pesquisa os ofícios recebidos pelo departamento jurídico da Secretaria de Saúde no Município de Ivinhema/MS, no período de primeiro de janeiro a 31 de dezembro de 2017. As variáveis concatenadas foram: quantificação das requisições de medicamentos no período supracitado; classificação da autoria dos ofícios recebidos; características dos medicamentos requeridos: pertinência à rede de assistência farmacêutica do SUS e classificação pela Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification (ATC), de acordo com a recomendação da Organização Mundial de Saúde. Resultados: foram recebidos 59 ofícios, requisitando um total de 169 medicamentos. Desse total, 118 (69,8%) não faziam parte da rede de assistência farmacêutica do SUS. Dos 51 (30,2%) medicamentos listados na rede pública de saúde, 38 (74,5%) estavam elencados na Relação Estadual de Medicamentos Essenciais (Resme) e 13 (25,5%), na lista do componente especializado. Os fármacos solicitados com maior frequência foram: ácido acetilsalicílico (3,5%), metoprolol e cilostazol (2,4%). A maioria das requisições recebidas veio da Defensoria Pública (93,2%). Além disso, segundo a classificação terapêutica dos medicamentos solicitados, verificou-se que os grupos anatômicos mais frequentes foram: sistema nervoso central (31,9%), sistema cardiovascular (26,0%) e sangue e órgãos hematopoiéticos (10,6%). Conclusão: a maioria dos ofícios era de autoria da Defensoria Pública e requisitavam medicamentos que não faziam parte da rede de assistência farmacêutica do SUS

Objective: to know the profile of medicines requests in the administrative level, received by the Secretary of Health of Ivinhema, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, in 2017. Methodology: descriptive, retrospective study, focusing on documentary basis. The universe of research was defined as the documents received by the law department of Secretary of Health of Ivinhema, Mato Grosso do Sul, from January 1 to December 31, 2017. The variables studied were: quantification of medicines requests; authorship classification of the received documents; characteristics of the required medicines: relevance to the SUS pharmaceutical assistance network and classification by the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification (ATC), according to the recommendation of the World Health Organization. Results: 59 documents were received, requesting a total of 169 medicines. Of this total, 118 (69.8%) were not part of SUS's pharmaceutical assistance network. Of the 51 (30.2%) medicines listed in the public health network, 38 (74.5%) were listed in the State List of Essential Medicines (Resme), and 13 (25.5%) in the specialized component list. The most frequently requested medicines were acetylsalicylic acid (3.5%), metoprolol and cilostazol (2.4%).Most of the documents received came from the Public Defender's Office (93.2%). In addition, according to the therapeutic classification of the medicine requested, it was found that the most frequent anatomical groups were: central nervous system (31.9%), cardiovascular system (26.0%) and blood and hematopoietic organs (10.6%). Conclusion: Most of the documents were from the Public Defender's and requested medicines that were not part of SUS's pharmaceutical assistance network.

Objetivo: conocer el perfil de las requisiciones de medicamentos en la esfera administrativa, recibidas por la Secretaría de Salud del Municipio de Ivinhema, Mato Grosso do Sul, en el año 2017. Metodología: estudio descriptivo, retrospectivo con foco en base documental. Se definió como universo de la investigación los oficios recibidos por el departamento jurídico de la Secretaría de Salud en el Municipio de Ivinhema/MS, en el período del primero de enero al 31 de diciembre de 2017. Las variables concatenadas fueron: cuantificación de las solicitudes de drogas en el período mencionado; clasificación de autoría de los oficios recibidas; características de los medicamentos requeridos: relevancia para la red de atención farmacéutica del SUS y clasificación según la Clasificación Química Terapéutica Anatómica (ATC), según la recomendación de la Organización Mundial de la Salud. Resultados: recibieron 59 oficios, solicitando un total de 169 medicamentos. De este total, 118 (69,8%) no formaban parte de La red de Asistencia Farmacéutica del SUS. De los 51 (30,2%) medicamentos listados en la red pública de salud, 38 (74,5%) estaban enumerados en la Lista Estatal de Medicamentos Esenciales (Resme) y 13 (25,5%) en la lista del componente especializado. Los fármacos solicitados com mayor frecuencia fueron: ácido acetilsalicílico (3,5%), metoprolol y cilostazol (2,4%). La mayoría de las acciones recibidas vinieron de La Defensoría Pública (93,2%). Además, según La clasificación terapéutica de los medicamentos solicitados, se verificó que los grupos anatómicos más frecuentes fueron: sistema nervioso central (31,9%), sistema cardiovascular (26,0%) y sangre y órganos hematopoyéticos (10,6%). Conclusion: La mayoría de los documentos provenían de la Oficina del Defensor Público y solicitaban medicamentos que no formaban parte de la red de asistencia farmacéutica del SUS.

Risk Calculator to Predict 30-Day Readmission After Coronary Artery Bypass: A Strategic Decision Support Tool.

BACKGROUND: Re-admission is an important source of patient dissatisfaction and increased hospital costs. A simple calculator to determine the probability of re-admission may help guide patient dismissal planning. METHODS: Using the national readmissions database (NRD), we identified admissions for isolated primary coronary artery bypass (CABG) and stratified them according to 30-day readmission. Including pre, intra and postoperative variables, we prepared a logistic regression model to determine the probability for re-admission. The model was tested for reliability with boot-strapping and 10-fold cross-validation. RESULTS: From 135,699 procedures, 19,355 were readmitted at least once within 30days of dismissal. Patients who were readmitted were older (67±10 vs 65 ± 10 years, p<0.01), females (32% vs 24%; p<0.01) and had a higher Elixhauser comorbidity score (1.5±1.4 vs 1.1±1.2; p<0.01). Our final model (c- statistic=0.65) consisted of 16 pre and three postoperative factors. End-stage renal disease (OR 1.79 [1.57-2.04]) and length of stay>9days (OR 1.60 [1.52-1.68]) were most prominent indicators for readmission. Compared to Medicaid beneficiaries, those with private insurance (OR 0.62 [0.57-0.68]) and Medicare (OR 0.85 [0.79-0.92]) coverage were less likely to be readmitted. CONCLUSIONS: Our simple 30-days CABG readmission calculator can be used as a strategic tool to help reduce readmissions after coronary artery bypass surgery.

Mobilization of progenitor cells and assessment of vessel healing after second generation drug-eluting stenting by optical coherence tomography.

BACKGROUND: Bone marrow-derived progenitor cells likely contribute to both endothelial- and smooth muscle cell-dependent healing responses in stent-injured vessel sites. This study aimed to assess mobilization of progenitor cells and vessel healing after zotarolimus-eluting (ZES) and everolimus-eluting (EES) stents. METHODS AND RESULTS: In 63 patients undergoing coronary stent implantation, we measured circulating CD34 + CD133 + CD45low cells and serum levels of biomarkers relevant to stem cell mobilization. In 31 patients of them, we assessed vessel healing within the stented segment using optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging. The CD34 + CD133 + CD45low cells increased 68 ± 59% 7 days after bare metal stent (BMS), 10 ± 53% after ZES (P < 0.01 vs BMS), 3 ± 49% after EES (P < 0.001 vs BMS), compared with baseline. Percent change in CD34 + CD133 + CD45low cells was positively correlated with that in stromal cell-derived factor (SDF)-1α (R = 0.29, P = 0.034). Percentage of uncovered struts was higher in the EES group (14.4 ± 17.3%), compared with the BMS (0.7 ± 1.3, P < 0.01) and ZES (0.4 ± 0.5, P < 0.01) groups. The change in CD34 + CD133 + CD45low cells showed positive correlation with OCT-quantified mean neointimal area (R = 0.48, P < 0.01). Finally, circulating mononuclear cells obtained from 5 healthy volunteers were isolated to determine the effect of sirolimus, zotarolimus and everolimus on vascular cell differentiation. The differentiation of mononuclear cells into endothelial-like cells was dose-dependently suppressed by sirolimus, zotarolimus, and everolimus. CONCLUSIONS: Mobilization of progenitor cells was suppressed, and differentiation of mononuclear cells into endothelial-like cells was inhibited, in association with increased number of uncovered stent struts, even after second generation drug-eluting stenting. These data suggest that new approaches are necessary to enhance stent healing.

Vulnerabilidade social no Brasil: conceitos, métodos e primeiros resultados para municípios e regiões metropolitanas brasileiras

l nas diversas escalas do território brasileiro. Tais condições podem estar presentes a partir de diversos fatores envoltos na temática social, como os contextos de trabalho e renda, educação e saúde, condições de transporte, habitação e saneamento. O IVS é um índice sintético construído com base em indicadores que expressam fragilidades sociais a partir desses fatores. Este texto apresenta o processo de criação do IVS ao considerar seus aspectos e limitações conceituais, metodológicas e estatísticas. Após essa apresentação, o trabalho traz uma análise dos resultados do IVS, suas dimensões e indicadores para 2000 e 2010, de modo a traçar as condições de vulnerabilidade social no território brasileiro e exemplificar formas de análise dos dados disponíveis no AVS.

Cardiac computed tomography assessment of the near term impact of percutaneous ventricular restoration therapy (parachute(®) ) on mitral valve geometry.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of current study is to assess the near term impact of percutaneous ventricular restoration therapy (PVR), Parachute(®) on mitral valve (MV) geometry by cardiac computed tomography (CCT). BACKGROUND: Recent data demonstrates the feasibility of PVR for treatment of post anterior myocardial infarction (MI) heart failure. Little is known, however, about the interaction of the device and left ventricular structures, particularly the MV apparatus. METHODS: This is a retrospective Core Laboratory analysis of Parachute Trials' CCT data. Patients with paired (before and after Parachute implant) CCT acquisitions were included into analysis. MV geometric parameters were measured. RESULTS: Thirty-three patients were included in the analysis. The mean time of follow-up CCT post procedure was 188 ± 52 days. There were significant reduction in tenting height (A1P1: -1.70 ± 1.89 mm, -17.40 ± 20.20%; A2P2: -1.43 ± 1.89 mm, -12.10 ± 15.00%; A3P3: -1.54 ± 1.58 mm, -15.50 ± 15.20%, P < 0.001), tenting volume (-0.93 ± 0.60 mm3, -22.00 ± 11.40%, P < 0.001), systolic interpapillary muscle distance (-2.22 ± 2.11 mm, -7.51 ± 7.23%, P < 0.001) and diastolic interpapillary muscle distance (-3.14 ± 2.20 mm, -8.46 ± 5.73%, P < 0.001) post PVR. CONCLUSIONS: In post anterior MI heart failure patients, PVR has favorable near term impact on MV geometry as assessed by CCT. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Comparison of Outcomes of Transfemoral Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation Using a Minimally Invasive Versus Conventional Strategy.

Some centers, mostly in Europe, have demonstrated the feasibility of a minimally invasive strategy (MIS; i.e., local anesthesia and conscious sedation, performed in the cath laboratory without transesophageal echocardiography guidance). Nonetheless, the experience of MIS for TAVI using both commercially available valves is lacking in the United States. We, therefore, retrospectively studied all transfemoral TAVI cases performed at our institution between March 2011 and November 2014 to assess the safety and efficacy of MIS. Patients were dichotomized according to the strategy (MIS vs conventional strategy [CS]) used for the procedure. One hundred sixteen patients were included in the MIS group and 91 patients were included in the CS group. Baseline characteristics were similar, and procedural success was comparable (99.1% in MIS and 98.9% in CS, p = 1). One intraprocedural death occurred in each group, whereas conversion rates to general anesthesia were low (3.4%). Comparable device success was obtained. Rates of complications and >mild paravalvular leak before discharge were low and comparable. Length of hospital stay was significantly reduced in the MIS (median, 3.0 [2.0 to 5.0] days) compared with than that in CS group (median 6.0 days [3.5, 8.0]). At a median follow-up of 230 days, no significant difference in survival rate was detected (89% vs 88%, p = 0.9). On average, MIS was associated with remarkable cost saving compared with CS ($16,000/case). In conclusion, TAVI through MIS was associated with a shorter postprocedural hospital stay, lower costs, and similar safety profile while keeping procedural efficacy compared with CS.

Improving risk stratification in non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction with combined assessment of GRACE and CRUSADE risk scores.

BACKGROUND: Risk assessment is fundamental in the management of acute coronary syndromes (ACS), enabling estimation of prognosis. AIMS: To evaluate whether the combined use of GRACE and CRUSADE risk stratification schemes in patients with myocardial infarction outperforms each of the scores individually in terms of mortality and haemorrhagic risk prediction. METHODS: Observational retrospective single-centre cohort study including 566 consecutive patients admitted for non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. The CRUSADE model increased GRACE discriminatory performance in predicting all-cause mortality, ascertained by Cox regression, demonstrating CRUSADE independent and additive predictive value, which was sustained throughout follow-up. The cohort was divided into four different subgroups: G1 (GRACE<141; CRUSADE<41); G2 (GRACE<141; CRUSADE≥41); G3 (GRACE≥141; CRUSADE<41); G4 (GRACE≥141; CRUSADE≥41). RESULTS: Outcomes and variables estimating clinical severity, such as admission Killip-Kimbal class and left ventricular systolic dysfunction, deteriorated progressively throughout the subgroups (G1 to G4). Survival analysis differentiated three risk strata (G1, lowest risk; G2 and G3, intermediate risk; G4, highest risk). The GRACE+CRUSADE model revealed higher prognostic performance (area under the curve [AUC] 0.76) than GRACE alone (AUC 0.70) for mortality prediction, further confirmed by the integrated discrimination improvement index. Moreover, GRACE+CRUSADE combined risk assessment seemed to be valuable in delineating bleeding risk in this setting, identifying G4 as a very high-risk subgroup (hazard ratio 3.5; P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Combined risk stratification with GRACE and CRUSADE scores can improve the individual discriminatory power of GRACE and CRUSADE models in the prediction of all-cause mortality and bleeding. This combined assessment is a practical approach that is potentially advantageous in treatment decision-making.

Mechanisms of atherothrombosis and vascular response to primary percutaneous coronary intervention in women versus men with acute myocardial infarction: results of the OCTAVIA study.

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to assess in vivo sex differences in the pathophysiology of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and vascular response to primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). BACKGROUND: There is no consensus on whether differences in the pathophysiology of STEMI and response to primary PCI between women and men reflect biological factors as opposed to differences in age. METHODS: In this prospective, multicenter study, 140 age-matched men and women with STEMI undergoing primary PCI with everolimus-eluting stent were investigated with intravascular optical coherence tomography, histopathology-immunohistochemistry of thrombus aspirates, and serum biomarkers. Primary endpoints were the percentages of culprit plaque rupture at baseline and everolimus-eluting stent strut coverage at 9-month follow-up as determined by optical coherence tomography. RESULTS: Men and women had similar rates of plaque rupture (50.0% vs. 48.4%; risk ratio [RR]: 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.73 to 1.47; p = 0.56). Nonruptured/eroded plaques comprised 25% of all cases (p = 0.86 in men vs. women). There were no sex differences in composition of aspirated thrombus and immune and inflammatory serum biomarkers. At 9 months, women had similar strut coverage (90.9% vs. 92.5%; difference in medians: RR: 0.2%; 95% CI: -0.4% to 1.3%; p = 0.89) and amount of in-stent neointimal obstruction (10.3% vs. 10.6%; p = 0.76) as men did. There were no sex differences in clinical outcome either at 30-day or 1-year follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: In patients presenting with STEMI undergoing primary PCI, no differences in culprit plaque morphology and factors associated with coronary thrombosis were observed between age-matched men and women. Women also showed similar vascular healing response to everolimus-eluting stents as men did. (Optical Coherence Tomography Assessment of Gender Diversity In Primary Angioplasty: The OCTAVIA Trial [OCTAVIA]; NCT01377207).

Intravascular frequency-domain optical coherence tomography assessment of carotid artery disease in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients.

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to investigate carotid plaque characteristics in symptomatic versus asymptomatic patients with the use of nonocclusive optical coherence tomography (OCT). BACKGROUND: The identification of asymptomatic patients with carotid disease who are at risk of stroke remains a challenge. There is an increasing awareness that plaque characteristics may best risk-stratify this population. We hypothesized that OCT, a new high-resolution (∼ 10 µm) imaging modality, might be useful for the identification of low-risk versus high-risk carotid plaque features and help us to understand the relationship between carotid diameter stenosis and plaque morphology to ischemic stroke. METHODS: Fifty-three patients undergoing diagnostic carotid angiography were studied with OCT. Data analysis was carried out by imaging experts who were unaware of the clinical characteristics of the study population. RESULTS: Plaque with American Heart Association type VI complicated features was more common in symptomatic than asymptomatic patients (74.1% vs. 36.4%, p = 0.02). This was largely driven by differences in the incidence of thin-cap fibroatheroma with rupture (40.7% vs. 13.6%, p = 0.056) and thrombus (67.7% vs. 36.4%, p = 0.034). Conversely, non-type VI plaques were more common in asymptomatic than symptomatic patients (63.6% vs. 25.9%, p = 0.02). No association between the degree of stenosis and plaque morphology was identified. CONCLUSIONS: This retrospective analysis of carotid OCT data supports the hypothesis that the evaluation of carotid plaque characteristics with this high-resolution imaging technique has the potential to alter the understanding and treatment of carotid artery disease.

Cardiovascular imaging payment and reimbursement systems: understanding the past and present in order to guide the future.

Uncertainty regarding the future of cardiovascular (CV) services and reimbursement systems in this era of rapid change in health care delivery may lead to further confusion among imagers. This article provides a brief history of national payment and reimbursement systems, and discusses potential changes that will impact CV imaging in the coming years. Data over the last decade are presented on payment and utilization of services to demonstrate the impact of reimbursement reforms and education on imaging use.

Serial assessment of vessel interactions after drug-eluting stent implantation in unprotected distal left main coronary artery disease using frequency-domain optical coherence tomography.

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to assess stent-vessel interactions after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation in unprotected left main coronary artery (ULM) by frequency-domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT). BACKGROUND: Percutaneous coronary intervention using DES in ULM has been increasingly performed in routine practice. Recently, FD-OCT assessments of DES-vessel interactions have been used as surrogates for DES safety; however, there are no FD-OCT studies in ULM. METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 33 consecutive patients with ULM disease treated with sirolimus- (n = 11) and everolimus-eluting stents (n = 22). FD-OCT assessments were performed post-percutaneous coronary intervention and at 9-month follow-up. Three different segments of ULM were compared: distal (DIS), bifurcation (BIF), and ostial-body (BODY). The primary endpoints were percentages of uncovered and malapposed struts at 9-month follow-up, and the secondary endpoint was neointimal hyperplasia area. RESULTS: We analyzed 25,873 stent struts. Significant differences were demonstrated for percentage of uncovered struts (3.4%, 11.7%, and 18.7%, respectively for DIS, BIF, and BODY; p < 0.05 for all the comparisons). Malapposition was also more common in BODY (5.3%) than in DIS (0.6%) and BIF (2.0%) segments (p < 0.05 for BODY vs. DIS, and BODY vs. BIF). Equivalent neointimal hyperplasia areas were demonstrated in all segments. Acute malapposition rates led to different patterns of DES-vessel interactions at 9-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Distinct patterns of DES-vessel interactions were demonstrated in different segments of ULM. Acute stent strut malapposition affects these findings.

Serial assessment by optical coherence tomography of early and late vascular responses after implantation of an absorbable-coating Sirolimus-Eluting stent (from the first-in-human DESSOLVE I trial).

The initial enthusiasm caused by the potent antirestenotic effect of early generation drug-eluting stents was recently plagued by concerns regarding their safety profile. Investigators worldwide were stimulated, therefore, to seek for improvement in drug-eluting stent technology, such as eliminating their permanent polymer blamed for vascular inflammation and delayed healing. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) assessments of stent-vessel interactions are used as a surrogate for vessel healing after DES implantation. Herewith, we report serial OCT assessments of vascular reactions to the implantation of a novel absorbable polymer sirolimus-eluting stent (MiStent). In total, 30 patients were included. At 4-, 6-, and 8-month follow-up, different groups of 10 patients underwent OCT imaging, whereas all the patients had OCT assessments scheduled at 18-month follow-up. A total of 13,569 stent struts were analyzed. Low rates of uncovered (14.34 ± 15.35%, 6.62 ± 10.93%, 3.51 ± 2.87%, and 0.84 ± 1.15%, respectively, p <0.05 for 8- vs 18-month follow-up) and malapposed (3.74 ± 7.35%, 3.15 ± 6.13%, 0.48 ± 0.56%, and 0.09 ± 0.28%, respectively, p = NS) stent struts coupled with thin and increasingly homogenous neointimal proliferation were demonstrated. Neointimal area increased from 4- to 8-month follow-up (0.46 ± 0.29 and 1.12 ± 0.73 mm(2), respectively, p <0.05), whereas no "late catch up" was demonstrated at 18-month follow-up (1.28 ± 0.66 mm(2), p = NS vs 8-month follow-up). Early tissue maturation and reduction of low signal intensity tissue covering stent struts (8.8%, 3.1%, 0.3%, and 0%, respectively, p <0.05 for 4- vs 8-month follow-up comparison) were revealed by optical density analysis. In addition, high rates of strut coverage overlying the ostia of side branches without proliferative pattern were demonstrated. In conclusion, this comprehensive OCT analysis depicted favorable absorbable polymer sirolimus-eluting stent-vessel interactions up to 18-month follow-up.