Safety and feasibility of rotational atherectomy (RA) versus conventional stenting in patients with chronic total occlusion (CTO) lesions: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Interventional cardiologists face challenges in managing chronic total occlusion (CTO) lesions, with conflicting results when comparing rotational atherectomy (RA) to conventional PCI. This meta-analysis aims to provide a critical evaluation of the safety and feasibility of RA in CTO lesions. METHODS: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Ovid, and Cochrane central library until April 2023 were searched for relevant studies. MACE was our primary outcomes, other outcomes were all cause of death, cardiac death, MI, and TVR. Also, we reported angiographic outcomes as technical success, procedural success, and procedural complications in a random effect model. The pooled data was analyzed using odds ratio (OR) with its 95% CI using STATA 17 MP. RESULTS: Seven studies comprising 5494 patients with a mean follow-up of 43.1 months were included in this meta-analysis. Our pooled analysis showed that RA was comparable to PCI to decrease the incidence of MACE (OR = 0.98, 95% CI [0.74 to 1.3], p = 0.9). Moreover, there was no significant difference between RA and conventional PCI in terms of other clinical or angiographic outcomes. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that RA had comparable clinical and angiographic outcomes as conventional PCI in CTO lesions, which offer interventional cardiologists an expanded perspective when addressing calcified lesions. PROSPERO REGISTRATION: CRD42023417362.

A comprehensive guide on the optimal timing of PCI in the setting of acute coronary syndrome: An updated meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Invasive revascularization is recommended for cohorts of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS). However, the optimal timing of invasive revascularization is still controversial and no defined consensus is established. We aim to give a comprehensive appraisal on the optimal timing of invasive strategy in the heterogenous population of ACS. METHODS: Relevant studies were assessed through PubMed, Scopus, Web of science, and Cochrane Library from inception until April 2023. Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and all-cause mortality were our primary outcomes of interest, other secondary outcomes were cardiac death, TVR, MI, repeat revascularization, recurrent ischemia, and major bleeding. The data was pooled as odds ratio (OR) with its 95% confidence interval (CI) in a random effect model using STATA 17 MP. RESULTS: A total of 26 studies comprising 21,443 patients were included in the analysis. Early intervention was favor to decrease all-cause mortality (OR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.64 to 0.98, p = 0.03), when compared to delayed intervention. Subgroup analysis showed that early intervention was significantly associated with all-cause mortality reduction in only NSTE-ACS (OR = 0.83, 95% CI [0.7 to 0.99], p = 0.04). However, there was no significant difference between early and delayed intervention in terms of MACE, cardiac death, TVR, MI, repeat revascularization, recurrent ischemia, and major bleeding. CONCLUSION: An early intervention was associated with lower mortality rates compared to delayed intervention in NSTE-ACS with no significant difference in other clinical outcomes. PROSPERO registration: CRD42023415574.

Drug-coated balloons versus drug-eluting stents in patients with acute myocardial infarction undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: an updated meta-analysis with trial sequential analysis.

BACKGROUND: Drug-coated balloons (DCBs) are an established strategy for coronary artery disease. However, the new generation drug-eluting stent (DES) is recommended for patients with Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) for coronary artery revascularization. Our aim is to provide a comprehensive appraisal of the efficacy of DCBs in patients with AMI undergoing PCI. METHODS: We searched the WOS, PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane CENTRAL till March 2023, for studies that compared DCBs versus DES in patients with AMI undergoing PCI. We used a random-effects model to compare major adverse cardiac events (MACE), cardiac death, all-cause death, myocardial infarction, target lesion revascularization (TLR), stent thrombosis, Late lumen Loss (LLL), and minimum lumen diameter (MLD) between the two groups. RESULTS: Thirteen studies comprising 2644 patients were included. The pooled OR showed non-inferiority of DCB over DES in terms of MACE (OR = 0.89, 95% CI [0.57 to 1.40], p = 0.63). When we defined MACE as a composite of cardiac death, MI, and TLR; the pooled OR favored DCB over DES (OR = 0.50, 95% CI [0.28 to 0.9], p = 0.02). Moreover, DCB was not inferior to DES in terms of all-cause mortality (OR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.43 to 1.8, p = 0.73), cardiac mortality, (OR = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.22 to 1.56, p = 0.29), MI (OR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.34 to 2.29, p = 0.79), stent thrombosis (OR = 1.21, 95% CI: 0.35 to 4.23, p = 0.76), TLR (OR = 0.9, 95% CI: 0.43 to 1.93, p = 0.8), LLL (MD = -0.6, 95% CI: -0.3 to 0.19, p = 0.64), or MLD (MD = -0.4, 95% CI: -0.33 to 0.25, p = 0.76). CONCLUSION: Our meta-analysis indicated that DCB intervention was not inferior to DES in the PCI setting in patients with AMI, and can be recommended as a feasible strategy in AMI. PROSPERO REGISTRATION: CRD42023412757.

Short- and Long-term Outcomes of Percutaneous Coronary Interventions in Chronic and Non-chronic Total Occlusions: A Meta-analysis of 690,123 Patients.

The use of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with chronic total occlusion (CTO) is still a subject of debate, with conflicting outcomes reported in different studies when compared to non-CTO lesions. This meta-analysis aims to clarify the clinical outcomes of PCI in CTO cases compared to non-CTO lesions, both in the short and long-term. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Ovid, and Cochrane Central were searched until March 2023 for relevant studies addressing short- and long-term outcomes of PCI in CTO vs non-CTO lesions. Dichotomous data were pooled as odds ratio (OR) with its 95% confidence interval (CI) in a random Der-Simonian lair effect model using STATA 17 MP. Eight studies with a total of 690,123 patients were included. In terms of short-term outcomes, CTO PCI was associated with higher rates of vessel perforation (OR = 2.16, 95% CI: 1.31-3.57) and cardiac tamponade (OR = 5.19, 95% CI: 4.29-6.28). Additionally, CTO PCI showed lower rates of procedural success (OR = 0.84, 95% CI: 0.73-0.96). Moreover, in the long-term, CTO PCI had higher rates of MACE (OR = 1.02, 95% CI: 1.01-1.04), however, it showed lower rates of cardiac death (OR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.38-0.98), with no significant difference in other reported outcomes. Our findings underscore the challenges and adverse outcomes associated with using PCI to treat CTO lesions in the short term. This suggests that interventional cardiologists should carefully evaluate the risks and benefits before proceeding with PCI in CTO lesions.

A conformational switch in PRP8 mediates metal ion coordination that promotes pre-mRNA exon ligation.

Splicing of pre-mRNAs in eukaryotes is catalyzed by the spliceosome, a large RNA-protein metalloenzyme. The catalytic center of the spliceosome involves a structure comprising the U2 and U6 snRNAs and includes a metal bound by U6 snRNA. The precise architecture of the splicesome active site, however, and the question of whether it includes protein components, remains unresolved. A wealth of evidence places the protein PRP8 at the heart of the spliceosome through assembly and catalysis. Here we provide evidence that the RNase H domain of PRP8 undergoes a conformational switch between the two steps of splicing, rationalizing yeast prp8 alleles that promote either the first or second step. We also show that this switch unmasks a metal-binding site involved in the second step. Together, these data establish that PRP8 is a metalloprotein that promotes exon ligation within the spliceosome.