Proximity superconductivity in atom-by-atom crafted quantum dots.

Gapless materials in electronic contact with superconductors acquire proximity-induced superconductivity in a region near the interface1,2. Numerous proposals build on this addition of electron pairing to originally non-superconducting systems and predict intriguing phases of matter, including topological3-7, odd-frequency8, nodal-point9 or Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov10 superconductivity. Here we investigate the most miniature example of the proximity effect on only a single spin-degenerate quantum level of a surface state confined in a quantum corral11 on a superconducting substrate, built atom by atom by a scanning tunnelling microscope. Whenever an eigenmode of the corral is pitched close to the Fermi energy by adjusting the size of the corral, a pair of particle-hole symmetric states enters the gap of the superconductor. We identify these as spin-degenerate Andreev bound states theoretically predicted 50 years ago by Machida and Shibata12, which had-so far-eluded detection by tunnel spectroscopy but were recently shown to be relevant for transmon qubit devices13,14. We further find that the observed anticrossings of the in-gap states are a measure of proximity-induced pairing in the eigenmodes of the quantum corral. Our results have direct consequences on the interpretation of impurity-induced in-gap states in superconductors, corroborate concepts to induce superconductivity into surface states and further pave the way towards superconducting artificial lattices.

Coronary artery restenosis treatment with plain balloon, drug-coated balloon, or drug-eluting stent: 10-year outcomes of the ISAR-DESIRE 3 trial.

AIMS: The best interventional strategy for the treatment of drug-eluting stent (DES) in-stent restenosis (ISR) is still unclear and no data from randomized trials beyond 3-year follow-up are available. We aimed to define 10-year comparative efficacy and safety of plain balloon (PB), paclitaxel-coated balloon (PCB), and paclitaxel-eluting stent (PES) for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of DES-ISR. METHODS AND RESULTS: Clinical follow-up of patients randomly assigned to PB, PCB, and PES in the ISAR-DESIRE 3 trial was extended to 10 years and events were independently adjudicated. The primary endpoint was a composite of cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction, target lesion thrombosis, or target lesion revascularization. The major secondary safety endpoint was a composite of cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction, or target lesion thrombosis. The major secondary efficacy endpoint was target lesion revascularization. Incidences by the Kaplan-Meier method were compared by the log-rank test. Risk estimation was primarily performed by Cox proportional hazards regression and supplemented by weighted Cox regression accounting for non-proportional hazards and Royston-Parmar flexible parametric regression with a time-varying coefficient. Primary results were further assessed by landmark, lesion-level, per-protocol, and competing risk analyses. A total of 402 patients (500 lesions) with DES-ISR were randomly assigned to PB angioplasty (134 patients, 160 lesions), PCB angioplasty (137 patients, 172 lesions), and PES implantation (131 patients, 168 lesions). Clinical follow-up did not significantly differ among treatments [PB, 9.62 (4.50-10.02) years; PCB, 10.01 (5.72-10.02) years; PES, 9.08 (3.14-10.02) years; P = 0.300]. At 10 years, the primary composite endpoint occurred in 90 patients (72.0%) assigned to PB, 70 patients (55.9%) assigned to PCB, and 72 patients (62.4%) assigned to PES (P < 0.001). The pairwise comparison between PCB and PES resulted in a non-significant difference [multiplicity-adjusted P = 0.610; Grambsch-Therneau P = 0.004; weighted Cox: hazard ratio (HR) 1.10, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.80-1.51; Cox: HR 1.10, 95% CI 0.79-1.52; Royston-Parmar: HR 1.08, 95% CI 0.72-1.60]. The major secondary safety endpoint occurred in 39 patients (34.1%) assigned to PB, 39 patients (34.0%) assigned to PCB, and 42 patients (40.0%) assigned to PES (P = 0.564). Target lesion revascularization occurred in 71 patients (58.0%) assigned to PB, 55 patients (43.9%) assigned to PCB, and 42 patients (38.6%) assigned to PES (P < 0.0001). The pairwise comparison between PES and PCB resulted in a non-significant difference (multiplicity-adjusted P = 0.282; Grambsch-Therneau P = 0.002; weighted Cox: HR 0.83, 95% CI 0.56-1.22; Cox: HR 0.81, 95% CI 0.54-1.21; Royston-Parmar: HR 0.75, 95% CI 0.47-1.20). Lesion-level and per-protocol analyses were consistent. At landmark analyses, an excess of death and cardiac death associated with PES compared with PCB was observed within 5 years after PCI, though 10-year differences did not formally reach the threshold of statistical significance after adjustment for multiplicity. Competing risk regression confirmed a non-significant difference in target lesion revascularization between PCB and PES and showed an increased risk of death associated with PES compared with PCB. CONCLUSION: Ten years after PCI for DES-ISR, the primary and major secondary endpoints between PCB and PES were not significantly different. However, an excess of death and cardiac death within 5 years associated with PES and the results of the competing risk analysis are challenging to interpret and warrant further analysis. PES and PCB significantly reduced target lesion revascularization compared with PB.

Ten-year outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention of in-stent restenosis in saphenous vein grafts.

BACKGROUND: Only few data is available for long-term outcomes of patients being treated for in-stent restenosis (ISR) in saphenous vein grafts (SVG). AIMS: Thus, the aim of this observational, retrospective study was to close this lack of evidence. METHODS: Between January 2007 and February 2021 a total of 163 patients with 186 ISR lesions located in SVG were treated at two large-volume centers in Munich, Germany. Endpoints of interest were all-cause mortality, target lesion revascularization (TLR) and target vessel myocardial infarction (TVMI). Furthermore, recurrent ISR were assessed. Outcomes are presented as Kaplan-Meier event rates. RESULTS: Mean age was 72.6 ± 8.6 years, 90.8% were male, 36.8% were diabetics and 42.3% presented an acute coronary syndrome. ISR were treated with DES in 64.0% and with balloon angioplasty (BA) in 36.0%. After 10 years, the rates for all-cause mortality, TVMI and TLR were 58.2%, 15.4%, and 22.6%, respectively. No statistically relevant differences were found between the types of treatment (DES or BA) regarding all-cause mortality (55.7% vs. 63.2%, p = 0.181), TVMI (13.8% vs. 18.6%, p = 0.215) and TLR (21.8% vs. 25.0%, p = 0.764). Median time between first and recurrent ISR was 270.8 days. Recurrent ISR were treated with DES in a comparable proportion as during first ISR (p = 0.075). Independent predictor of TLR is patient age (p = 0.034). The median follow-up duration was 5.1 years (75% CI 2.8; 8.5). CONCLUSIONS: Clinical event rates after intervention of ISR located in SVG are high without statistically relevant differences regarding the type of treatment. However, further studies are needed.

A prospective trial of a novel low-dose paclitaxel-coated balloon therapy in patients with restenosis in drug-eluting coronary stents Intracoronary Stenting and Angiographic Results: Optimizing Treatment of Drug Eluting Stent In-stent REstenosis 3A (ISAR-DESIRE 3A).

OBJECTIVES: We investigated the clinical efficacy of a paclitaxel-coated balloon (PCB) with a novel matrix coating and reduced drug concentration in comparison with a widely used PCB with iopromide excipient. METHODS: We prospectively enrolled patients with restenosis in drug-eluting stents. All patients were treated with a novel low-dose PCB with citrate-based excipient (Agent PCB). Angiographic follow-up was scheduled at 6-8 months. Outcomes were compared against those of patients treated with iopromide excipient PCB (SeQuent Please PCB) enrolled in a trial with identical inclusion and exclusion criteria. The primary endpoint was percent diameter stenosis (%DS) at follow-up angiography. The primary hypothesis was that the investigational device would be non-inferior to the control device (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02367495). RESULTS: One hundred twenty-five patients with 151 lesions were enrolled. Mean age was 68.1 ± 10.2 years, 40.8% had diabetes mellitus and 80.1% had focal morphology in-stent restenosis. Follow-up angiography data at 6-8 months was available for 102 (81.6%) patients. The Agent PCB was non-inferior to the SeQuent Please PCB in terms of the primary endpoint (38.9 ± 17.5 vs. 38.1 ± 21.5%; p non-inferiority  = 0.0056). Late lumen loss was also comparable between the groups (0.35 ± 0.55 vs. 0.37 ± 0.59; p = 0.71). There was no difference between the groups in the incidence of TLR (27.7% vs. 22.1%; p = 0.31), death or myocardial infarction (4.2% vs. 4.4%; p = 0.92) or target lesion thrombosis (1.0% vs. 0.7%; p = 0.93). CONCLUSION: In patients with DES restenosis, angioplasty with a novel PCB with citrate-based excipient was non-inferior to PCB with iopromide excipient in terms of angiographic outcome.

Long-term clinical outcomes after drug eluting stent implantation with and without stent overlap.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of drug eluting stent (DES) overlap on clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). BACKGROUND: While the use of overlapping bare metal stent has been associated with an increased risk of adverse clinical events, the long-term impact of DES overlap on clinical outcomes is not certain at present. Similarly, the effect of different DES generations and polymer types on DES overlap associated clinical outcomes has not previously been comprehensively elucidated. METHODS: We analyzed the angiographic and clinical outcomes of 5605 patients treated with DES in the setting of the ISAR-TEST 4 and ISAR-TEST 5 randomized control trials according to the presence or absence of stent overlap. The clinical endpoints assessed in this study were all-cause death, myocardial infarction (MI), target lesion revascularization (TLR), and definite or probable stent thrombosis at 10-years. We also compared rates of binary angiographic restenosis (BAR) at 6-8 months. RESULTS: At 10 years, all-cause mortality (Hazard ratios [HR] = 1.05 [0.95-1.16]; p = 0.348) did not differ between the stent overlap and no stent overlap groups. MI (8.4% vs. 5.2%; HR = 1.67 [1.35-2.07], p < 0.001) and TLR (23.7% vs. 16.3%; HR = 1.54 [1.36-1.74], p < 0.001) occurred more frequently in the stent overlap group. For MI, landmark analysis demonstrated that this increase in risk was primarily in the first 30 days post PCI. BAR at 6-8 months was also more frequent in the stent overlap group (16.0% vs. 10.3%; HR = 1.65 [1.41-1.92], p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: DES overlap is associated with an increased risk of adverse clinical events post PCI.

Outcomes of 10,312 patients treated with everolimus-eluting bioresorbable scaffolds during daily clinical practice - results from the European Absorb Consortium.

OBJECTIVES: To asses mid-term clinical outcomes of bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVS) for the treatment of coronary artery disease in a large-scale all-comers population. BACKGROUND: Several clinical settings are underrepresented in randomized studies investigating BVS against drug-eluting stents. Whether their results can be translated into the heterogeny patient population seen during daily routine requires further investigation. METHODS: The European ABSORB Consortium comprises the following European registries: GABI-R, ABSORB UK Registry, ABSORB France, BVS RAI Registry, and REPARA BVS Registry, which all prospectively collected patient-level data regarding outcomes following unrestricted BVS implantation. The primary endpoint of target lesion failure (TLF) includes cardiac death, target-vessel myocardial infarction (TVMI) and target-lesion revascularisation (TLR) at 12 months. The incidence of scaffold thrombosis (ST) according to ARC criteria was also assessed. Multivariable analysis was used to adjust for differences in patient and lesion characteristics. RESULTS: A total of 10,312 patients (mean age 58.4 ± 11.4 y) underwent BVS implantation during routine practice. The 12-month follow-up was complete in 95.5% of patients. At 12 months, the primary endpoint of TLF occurred in 3.6%; its components cardiac death, TVMI and TLR were documented in 1.2%, 1.8%, and 2.6%, respectively. The definite/probable ST rate was 1.7%. Absence of predilatation, discontinuation of DAPT and scaffold diameter below 3 mm were independent predictors of ST. CONCLUSIONS: The EAC demonstrates reasonable real-world clinical outcome data after BVS implantation. However, the rate of scaffold thrombosis remains high.

Correlation of Yu-Shiba-Rusinov States and Kondo Resonances in Artificial Spin Arrays on an s-Wave Superconductor.

Mutually interacting magnetic atoms coupled to a superconductor have gained enormous interest due to their potential for the realization of topological superconductivity. Individual magnetic impurities produce states within the superconducting energy gap known as Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) states. Here, using the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope, we artificially craft spin arrays consisting of an Fe adatom interacting with an assembly of interstitial Fe atoms (IFA) on a superconducting oxygen-reconstructed Ta(100) surface and show that the magnetic interaction between the adatom and the IFA assembly can be tuned by adjusting the number of IFAs in the assembly. The YSR state experiences a characteristic crossover in its energetic position and particle-hole spectral weight asymmetry when the Kondo resonance shows spectral depletion around the Fermi energy. By the help of slave-boson mean-field theory (SBMFT) and numerical renormalization group (NRG) calculations we associate the crossover with the transition from decoupled Kondo singlets to an antiferromagnetic ground state of the Fe adatom spin and the IFA assembly effective spin.

Prognostic value of haemoglobin drop in patients with acute coronary syndromes.

BACKGROUND: The prognostic value of in-hospital haemoglobin drop in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) undergoing invasive therapy remains insufficiently investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This observational study included 3838 patients with ACS with admission and in-hospital nadir haemoglobin values available. Haemoglobin drop was defined as a positive difference between admission and nadir haemoglobin values. The primary endpoint was one-year all-cause mortality. RESULTS: In-hospital haemoglobin drop occurred in 3142 patients (82%). Patients were categorized into 4 groups: no haemoglobin drop (n = 696 patients), <3 g/dl haemoglobin drop (n = 2703 patients), 3 to <5 g/dl haemoglobin drop (n = 344 patients) and ≥5 g/dl haemoglobin drop (n = 95 patients). The primary endpoint occurred in 156 patients: 17 patients (2.5%) in the group with no haemoglobin drop, 81 patients (3.0%) in the group with <3g/dl haemoglobin drop, 37 patients (10.9%) in the group with 3 to <5 g/dl haemoglobin drop and 21 patients (22.2%) in the group with ≥5 g/dl haemoglobin (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 1.30, 95% confidence interval 1.17 to 1.45; p < .001 for one g/dl haemoglobin drop). The association of haemoglobin drop with one-year mortality remained significant after exclusion of patients with in-hospital overt bleeding (adjusted HR = 1.27 [1.11-1.46]; p < .001 for one g/dl haemoglobin drop). The lowest haemoglobin drop associated with mortality was 1.23 g/dl in all patients (HR = 1.03 [1.02-1.04]) and 1.13 g/dl in patients without overt bleeding (HR = 1.03 [1.01-1.04]). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with ACS, in-hospital haemoglobin drop was associated with higher risk of one-year mortality even in the absence of overt bleeding.

Spin-Polarized Yu-Shiba-Rusinov States in an Iron-Based Superconductor.

Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) bound states appear when a magnetic atom interacts with a superconductor. Here, we report on spin-resolved spectroscopic studies of YSR states related with Fe atoms deposited on the surface of the topological superconductor FeTe_{0.55}Se_{0.45} using a spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscope. We clearly identify the spin signature of pairs of YSR bound states at finite energies within the superconducting gap having opposite spin polarization as theoretically predicted. In addition, we also observe zero-energy bound states for some of the adsorbed Fe atoms. In this case, a spin signature is found to be absent indicating the absence of Majorana bound states associated with Fe adatoms on FeTe_{0.55}Se_{0.45}.

Five-year follow-up of patients who underwent everolimus-eluting bioresorbable scaffold implantation.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate very long-term results after unrestricted everolimus-eluting bioresorbable scaffolds (BRS) implantation. BACKGROUND: Previous randomized studies mainly included selected patients differing from those seen during daily routine and long-term data from all-comers registries are sparse. METHODS: Consecutive patients undergoing BRS implantation were included in this observational, single center study. Clinical follow-up was conducted up to 5 years. Endpoint of interest was the composite of target lesion failure (TLF), including target-vessel myocardial infarction and target lesion revascularization and cardiac death. Furthermore, ARC-defined scaffold thrombosis (ScT) were assessed. RESULTS: A total of 176 patients with a median age of 64 (55 - 72) years were analyzed, of which 59.6% presented an acute coronary syndrome. A total of 183 mainly complex lesions (55.8%) were treated. At 5 years, the rate for TLF was 21.6%. Definite or probable ScT rate was 4.1%. The rate of ScT within the first year was 2.8% and afterwards 1.2%. Notably, no ScT was seen later than 2 years. CONCLUSIONS: Although this real-world registry displays high rates of clinical events during long-term follow-up, no ScT was seen after 2 years.

Angiographic performance of everolimus-eluting stents for the treatment of coronary in-stent restenosis in daily practice.

OBJECTIVES: The present study aims to analyze the angiographic anti-restenotic performance of durable polymer everolimus-eluting stents (EES) for the treatment of in-stent restenosis (ISR) in daily practice. BACKGROUND: Randomized data is available supporting the use of drug-coated balloons and drug-eluting stents for the treatment of ISR; however, additional real-world data including angiographic follow-up is needed. METHODS: Patients who underwent EES-implantation for the treatment of drug-eluting stent ISR and attended for a 6-8 months angiographic surveillance were analyzed. Off-line assessment of the angiograms was conducted at a central quantitative coronary angiographic core laboratory. RESULTS: A total of 426 patients with ISR were treated with EES and had undergone angiographic follow-up. The mean age was 66.8 ± 9.9 years and 27.5% suffered from diabetes. A total of 459 lesions were treated. The diameter stenosis decreased from 64.3 ± 19.1% (preprocedural) to 12.0 ± 6.4% (postprocedural). At 6-8 months angiographic follow-up, the in-segment diameter stenosis was 38.3 ± 21.7% and the in-stent late luminal loss was 0.54 ± 0.74 mm in the treated area analysis. The rate of recurrent binary restenosis was 25.7%. CONCLUSIONS: In the setting of ISR, the angiographic anti-restenotic efficacy of stenting with EES is comparable to that observed in randomized clinical trials and less favorable than its performance in patients undergoing stenting for de novo disease.

Prospective, randomized trial of bioresorbable scaffolds vs. everolimus-eluting stents in patients undergoing coronary stenting for myocardial infarction: the Intracoronary Scaffold Assessment a Randomized evaluation of Absorb in Myocardial Infarction (ISAR-Absorb MI) trial.

Aims: Bioresorbable scaffolds (BRS) provide short-term coronary artery scaffolding and drug delivery. Although prior trials showed a higher rate of device failure compared with conventional drug-eluting stents (DES), only a single trial investigated patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for acute myocardial infarction (MI). We aimed to compare outcomes with BRS vs. DES in patients undergoing PCI for MI. Methods and results: We did a prospective, randomized, multicentre, non-inferiority, clinical trial of everolimus-eluting BRS vs. durable polymer everolimus-eluting stents (EES) in patients with acute MI. Patients were eligible for enrolment if they presented with ST-elevation MI, or non-ST-elevation MI with thrombosis visual at angiography and were randomly allocated to treatment with BRS or EES in 2:1 proportion. Angiographic follow-up was scheduled at 6-8 months and clinical follow-up was done at 12 months. The primary endpoint was percentage diameter stenosis in-segment at follow-up. A total of 262 patients were enrolled and were allocated to BRS (n = 173) or EES (n = 89). Angiographic follow-up was available for 213 (81.3%) patients. Mean diameter stenosis was 24.6 ± 12.2% with BRS vs. 27.3 ± 11.7% with EES (mean difference -2.7%, upper limit of one-sided 97.5% confidence limit 0.7%, pre-specified margin of non-inferiority 5%, Pnon-inferiority <0.001). The rate of the device-oriented composite of cardiac death/target vessel MI/target lesion revascularization [BRS: 12 (7.0%) vs. EES: 6 (6.7%), hazard ratio (HR) 1.04, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.39-2.78] and definite/probable stent thrombosis [3 (1.7%) vs. 2 (2.3%), HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.13-4.56] were comparable in both groups. Conclusion: In patients undergoing PCI for acute MI BRS were non-inferior to EES for percentage diameter stenosis at angiographic follow-up. Rates of clinical events were comparable between the treatment groups, although the study was not powered to detect differences in clinical outcomes. Clinical trial registration: The trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01942070).

Long Spin-Relaxation Times in a Transition-Metal Atom in Direct Contact to a Metal Substrate.

Long spin-relaxation times are a prerequisite for the use of spins in data storage or nanospintronics technologies. An atomic-scale solid-state realization of such a system is the spin of a transition-metal atom adsorbed on a suitable substrate. For the case of a metallic substrate, which enables the direct addressing of the spin by conduction electrons, the experimentally measured lifetimes reported to date are on the order of only hundreds of femtoseconds. Here, we show that the spin states of iron atoms adsorbed directly on a conductive platinum substrate have a surprisingly long spin-relaxation time in the nanosecond regime, which is comparable to that of a transition metal atom decoupled from the substrate electrons by a thin decoupling layer. The combination of long spin-relaxation times and strong coupling to conduction electrons implies the possibility to use flexible coupling schemes to process the spin information.

A multicenter post-marketing evaluation of the Elixir DESolve® Novolimus-eluting bioresorbable coronary scaffold system: First results from the DESolve PMCF study.

OBJECTIVES: To date, experience with bioresorbable scaffolds (BRS) that elute agents other than everolimus is limited. Thus, a post-marketing clinical follow-up study was conducted to evaluate the continued safety and effectiveness of the DESolve® NOVOLIMUS™ Eluting BRS as treatment for patients with stable coronary artery disease. BACKGROUND: The DESolve BRS combines a poly-l-lactide-based backbone with a biodegradable polylactide-based polymer and Novolimus, a macrocyclic lactone mTOR inhibitor. METHODS: One hundred and two patients (mean age 62 years, 77.5% male) were enrolled at 10 European sites. Comparison of baseline and post-procedural angiographic assessment was performed, and a device-oriented composite endpoint (comprising cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction, and clinically driven target lesion revascularization) and rate of scaffold thrombosis at 12 months were examined. RESULTS: The device was successfully delivered and deployed in 98.2% (107/109) of the lesions, with two failures to cross the lesion. A total of 100 patients (109 lesions) were treated with a DESolve BRS. Post-procedural angiographic assessment indicated an in-scaffold acute gain of 1.54 ± 0.44 mm, with a reduction in % diameter stenosis from 61.00 ± 11.29 to 12.69 ± 0.44. At 12 months, the device-oriented composite endpoint had occurred in 3.0% (3/100) of patients, with 1.0% (1/100) experiencing scaffold thrombosis and myocardial infarction and 3.0% (3/100) undergoing target lesion revascularization. There were no cardiac deaths. CONCLUSIONS: Results through 12 months indicate that the DESolve BRS is a safe and effective treatment for coronary lesions, though larger, long-term prospective studies are needed.

Clinical outcomes of patients with diabetes mellitus treated with Absorb bioresorbable vascular scaffolds: a subanalysis of the European Multicentre GHOST-EU Registry.

BACKGROUND: Data on the clinical performance of bioresorbable scaffolds in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) are still limited. The present study reported 1-year clinical outcomes associated with the use of everolimus-eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (Absorb BVS; Abbott Vascular, Santa Clara, CA) in DM patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: This was a subanalysis from the GHOST-EU (Gauging coronary Healing with biOresorbable Scaffolding plaTforms in Europe) multicenter retrospective registry including patients treated with Absorb BVS between November 2011 and September 2014. In this study, a comparative analysis stratified according to DM was performed. The primary endpoint was target lesion failure (TLF), defined as the combination of cardiac death, target-vessel myocardial infarction (MI) and clinically-driven target-lesion revascularization (TLR). A total of 1,477 patients were treated with 2,224 Absorb BVS; 381 (25.8%) and 1,096 (74.2%) patients were with and without DM, respectively. The 1-year rate of TLF was higher among patients with DM (7.8%) than those without DM (4.3%); the increase in TLF was driven by TLR (6.5% vs. 3.3%, P = 0.009); no significant differences in cardiac death (1.1% vs. 0.9%, P = 0.68) and target-vessel MI (3.1% vs. 2.2%, P = 0.38) were observed, respectively. Definite/probable scaffold thrombosis rate tended to be higher among patients with DM than those without DM (3.0% vs. 1.7%, P = 0.14, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Absorb BVS use in patients with DM was associated with increased 1-year TLF and scaffold thrombosis compared with non-diabetes patients.

Everolimus-eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffolds versus everolimus-eluting metallic stents: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Bioresorbable coronary stents might improve outcomes of patients treated with percutaneous coronary interventions. The everolimus-eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffold is the most studied of these stent platforms; however, its performance versus everolimus-eluting metallic stents remains poorly defined. We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of everolimus-eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffolds versus everolimus-eluting metallic stents in patients with ischaemic heart disease treated with percutaneous revascularisation. METHODS: We searched Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), scientific sessions abstracts, and relevant websites for randomised trials investigating everolimus-eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffolds versus everolimus-eluting metallic stents published or posted between Nov 30, 2006, and Oct 12, 2015. The primary efficacy outcome was target lesion revascularisation and the primary safety outcome was definite or probable stent (scaffold) thrombosis. Secondary outcomes were target lesion failure (the composite of cardiac death, target-vessel myocardial infarction, or ischaemia-driven target lesion revascularisation), myocardial infarction, death, and in-device late lumen loss. We derived odds ratios (ORs) and weighted mean differences with 95% CIs, and calculated the risk estimates for the main outcomes according to a random-effects model. This study is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42015026374. FINDINGS: We included six trials, comprising data for 3738 patients randomised to receive percutaneous coronary intervention with either an everolimus-eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffold (n=2337) or an everolimus-eluting metallic stent (n=1401). Median follow-up was 12 months (IQR 9-12). Patients treated with bioresorbable vascular scaffolds had a similar risk of target lesion revascularisation (OR 0.97 [95% CI 0.66-1.43]; p=0.87), target lesion failure (1.20 [0.90-1.60]; p=0.21), myocardial infarction (1.36 [0.98-1.89]; p=0.06), and death (0.95 [0.45-2.00]; p=0.89) as those treated with metallic stents. Patients treated with a bioresorbable vascular scaffold had a higher risk of definite or probable stent thrombosis than those treated with a metallic stent (OR 1.99 [95% CI 1.00-3.98]; p=0.05), with the highest risk between 1 and 30 days after implantation (3.11 [1.24-7.82]; p=0.02). Lesions treated with a bioresorbable vascular scaffold had greater in-device late lumen loss than those treated with a metallic stent (weighted mean difference 0.08 [95% CI 0.05-0.12]; p<0.0001). INTERPRETATION: Compared with everolimus-eluting metallic stents, everolimus-eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffolds had similar rates of repeat revascularisation at 1 year of follow-up, despite inferior mid-term angiographic performance. However, patients treated with a bioresorbable vascular scaffold had an increased risk of subacute stent thrombosis. Studies with extended follow-up in a larger number of patients are needed to fully assess the long-term advantages of everolimus-eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffolds. FUNDING: None.

Five-year follow-up of polymer-free sirolimus- and probucol-eluting stents versus new generation zotarolimus-eluting stents in patients presenting with st-elevation myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: Patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation are at increased risk of late adverse events, partly explained by an exaggerated inflammatory reaction to durable-polymer stent coatings. OBJECTIVES: We sought to investigate whether implantation of polymer-free DES would reduce this risk. METHODS: In the ISAR-TEST 5 (the Intracoronary Stenting and Angiographic Results: Test Efficacy of Sirolimus- and Probucol- and Zotarolimus-Eluting Stents) trial, patients were randomly allocated to receive a polymer-free sirolimus- and probucol-eluting stent or a new generation durable-polymer zotarolimus-eluting stent. We analyzed late clinical outcomes in the subgroup of patients presenting with STEMI. The primary endpoint was the combined incidence of cardiac death, target vessel-related myocardial infarction or target lesion revascularization at 5 years. RESULTS: 311 patients with STEMI were randomized to receive sirolimus- and probucol-eluting stents (n = 215) or zotarolimus-eluting stents (n = 96). At 5 years, there was no difference in the incidence of the primary endpoint in patients treated with sirolimus- and probucol-eluting stents versus zotarolimus-eluting stents (18.3% versus 20.1% respectively, hazard ratio = 0.87, 95% CI, 0.50-1.51; P = 0.62). Rates of the individual components of the primary endpoint were also comparable in both groups. The incidence of definite/probable stent thrombosis was 1.4% versus 1.0% respectively (hazard ratio = 1.35, 95% CI, 0.14-12.94, P = 0.80). CONCLUSIONS: Long-term outcomes of patients with STEMI treated with polymer-free sirolimus- and probucol-eluting stents versus durable-polymer zotarolimus-eluting stents were similar. Stent thrombosis rates were low and comparable in both treatment groups, with no events beyond 12 months. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier NCT 00598533) © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Bioresorbable vascular scaffold use for coronary bifurcation lesions: A substudy from GHOST EU registry.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate midterm outcomes of bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVS) implanted in bifurcation lesions. BACKGROUND: BVS have emerged as an alternative to conventional metallic drug-eluting stents for the treatment of coronary complex lesions. METHODS: Between November 2011 and January 2014, 1189 patients underwent percutaneous coronary intervention with BVS at 10 European centers (GHOST EU registry). Of these, 289 consecutive patients (302 bifurcation lesions) treated with either single-stenting (n = 260) or double-stenting (n = 42) were evaluated. RESULTS: True bifurcations were treated in 44.7%. Intravascular ultrasound and optical coherence tomography were utilized only in 22.2% and 21.2%, respectively. Predilation was performed in 95.4%, while postdilation of the main branch was performed in 61.3%. Final kissing inflation with no or minimal protrusion of a side-branch balloon into main branch was performed in 18.9%. Median follow-up period was 356 (IQR 191-419) days. The Kaplan-Meier estimated rates of target lesion failure and scaffold thrombosis (ST) were 6.4% and 2.5% at 360 days, respectively. Independent predictors for TLF were ACS and diabetes mellitus (HR 4.67; 95% CI: 1.78-12.3; P = 0.002 and HR 3.37; 95% CI: 1.38-8.26; P = 0.008, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: BVS use for coronary bifurcation lesions in an "all-comer" population was associated with acceptable TLF rates up to midterm follow-up. However, ST rates were higher than seen with contemporary metallic stents possibly due to the low incidence of intravascular guidance and postdilation resulting in a higher likelihood of scaffold underexpansion and malapposition, further supporting the importance of meticulous implantation technique. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Impact of overlapping on 1-year clinical outcomes in patients undergoing everolimus-eluting bioresorbable scaffolds implantation in routine clinical practice: Insights from the European multicenter GHOST-EU registry.

BACKGROUND: Overlapping implantation of bioresorbable scaffolds (BRSs) are frequent in long coronary lesions. Its impact on clinical outcomes is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical outcomes of patients treated with overlapping BRS with those patients treated with no-overlap BRS. METHODS: We analyzed the 1-year clinical outcomes of 1,477 patients treated with BRS in the GHOST-EU registry, according to the implantation of overlapping BRS. Primary endpoint was patient oriented composite endpoint (PoCE) of: all-cause death, any myocardial infarction (MI) and any repeated revascularization. Scaffold thrombosis, according to Academic Research Consortium definition, was also analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 320 (21.7%) patients were treated with overlapping BRS (overlap group), whereas the remaining 1,157 (78.3%) received no-overlap BRS (no-overlap group). The overlap group had significantly higher frequency of male sex, diabetes mellitus, stable angina, B2/C lesion type, SYNTAX score ≥22, lesion length >34 mm, use of intracoronary imaging guidance, pre- and postdilatation. At 1-year, there were no differences in PoCE between the overlap versus no-overlap group (18.4% vs. 18.2%; HR 1.07, [0.80-1.44]; P = 0.636), even after adjustment (HR 1.05, [0.48-2.20]; P = 0.904). Scaffold thrombosis rate did not differ either at one-month (1.3% vs. 1.5%, P = 0.769) or at 1-year (1.9% vs. 2.1%, P = 0.823). CONCLUSIONS: In "Real-world" clinical practice, overlapping BRS does not appear to have an impact on clinical outcomes as compared to no-overlapping BRS. These preliminary data should be confirmed. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Overlapping implantation of bioresorbable novolimus-eluting scaffolds: an observational optical coherence tomography study.

Overlapping implantation of bioresorbable vascular scaffolds is frequently necessary, but its influence on vessel and scaffold structure has not been thoroughly analyzed previously. The aim of this study was to analyze the acute effects of overlapping implantation on BRS as determined by optical coherence tomography (OCT). A total of 38 patients with de novo coronary artery stenoses who underwent OCT in the context of implantation of novolimus-eluting BRS (DESolve, Elixir Medical Corporation, Sunnyvale, California, USA) were investigated. In 15 patients, overlapping implantation of two BRS was performed, while 23 patients with implantation of one single BRS served as the control group. OCT data were retrospectively analyzed regarding acute scaffold implantation results. There were no significant differences between the overlap and control group in terms of residual in-scaffold area stenosis, scaffold area, mean or minimal lumen area, eccentricity index, incomplete scaffold apposition area or malapposition. While strut fracture was slightly more frequent in BRS with overlap its incidence was low overall. In patients with overlapping BRS, overlap segments did not display smaller lumen areas than segments without overlap (mean lumen area overlap: 8.16 ± 2.97 mm2 vs. no overlap: 7.70 ± 2.55 mm2; p = 0.71; minimal lumen area overlap: 6.83 ± 2.71 mm2 vs. no overlap: 6.17 ± 2.58 mm2; p = 0.37). Acute mechanical performance of novolimus-eluting BRS is not impaired by overlapping implantation. It can be assumed that vessel expansion compensates for the double scaffold layer in the overlap area resulting in a similar lumen area in overlap areas and in those with a single strut layer.