Vaccine effectiveness against severe COVID-19 during the Omicron wave in Germany: results from the COViK study.

PURPOSE: COViK, a prospective hospital-based multicenter case-control study in Germany, aims to assess the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against severe disease. Here, we report vaccine effectiveness (VE) against COVID-19-caused hospitalization and intensive care treatment during the Omicron wave. METHODS: We analyzed data from 276 cases with COVID-19 and 494 control patients recruited in 13 hospitals from 1 December 2021 to 5 September 2022. We calculated crude and confounder-adjusted VE estimates. RESULTS: 21% of cases (57/276) were not vaccinated, compared to 5% of controls (26/494; p < 0.001). Confounder-adjusted VE against COVID-19-caused hospitalization was 55.4% (95% CI: 12-78%), 81.5% (95% CI: 68-90%) and 95.6% (95%CI: 88-99%) after two, three and four vaccine doses, respectively. VE against hospitalization due to COVID-19 remained stable up to one year after three vaccine doses. CONCLUSION: Three vaccine doses remained highly effective in preventing severe disease and this protection was sustained; a fourth dose further increased protection.

Ticagrelor or Prasugrel in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndromes.

BACKGROUND: The relative merits of ticagrelor as compared with prasugrel in patients with acute coronary syndromes for whom invasive evaluation is planned are uncertain. METHODS: In this multicenter, randomized, open-label trial, we randomly assigned patients who presented with acute coronary syndromes and for whom invasive evaluation was planned to receive either ticagrelor or prasugrel. The primary end point was the composite of death, myocardial infarction, or stroke at 1 year. A major secondary end point (the safety end point) was bleeding. RESULTS: A total of 4018 patients underwent randomization. A primary end-point event occurred in 184 of 2012 patients (9.3%) in the ticagrelor group and in 137 of 2006 patients (6.9%) in the prasugrel group (hazard ratio, 1.36; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.09 to 1.70; P = 0.006). The respective incidences of the individual components of the primary end point in the ticagrelor group and the prasugrel group were as follows: death, 4.5% and 3.7%; myocardial infarction, 4.8% and 3.0%; and stroke, 1.1% and 1.0%. Definite or probable stent thrombosis occurred in 1.3% of patients assigned to ticagrelor and 1.0% of patients assigned to prasugrel, and definite stent thrombosis occurred in 1.1% and 0.6%, respectively. Major bleeding (as defined by the Bleeding Academic Research Consortium scale) was observed in 5.4% of patients in the ticagrelor group and in 4.8% of patients in the prasugrel group (hazard ratio, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.51; P = 0.46). CONCLUSIONS: Among patients who presented with acute coronary syndromes with or without ST-segment elevation, the incidence of death, myocardial infarction, or stroke was significantly lower among those who received prasugrel than among those who received ticagrelor, and the incidence of major bleeding was not significantly different between the two groups. (Funded by the German Center for Cardiovascular Research and Deutsches Herzzentrum München; ISAR-REACT 5 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01944800.).

Comparing routine administrative data with registry data for assessing quality of hospital care in patients with myocardial infarction using deterministic record linkage.

BACKGROUND: Assessment of quality of care in patients with myocardial infarction (MI) should be based on data that effectively enable determination of quality. With the need to simplify measurement techniques, the question arises whether routine data can be used for this purpose. We therefore compared data from a German sickness fund (AOK) with data from the Berlin Myocardial Infarction Registry (BMIR). METHODS: We included patients hospitalised for treatment of MI in Berlin from 2009-2011. We matched 2305 patients from AOK and BMIR by using deterministic record linkage with indirect identifiers. For matched patients we compared the frequency in documentation between AOK and BMIR for quality assurance variables and calculated the kappa coefficient (KC) as a measure of agreement. RESULTS: There was almost perfect agreement in documentation between AOK and BMIR data for matched patients for: catheter laboratory (KC: 0.874), ST elevation MI (KC: 0.826), diabetes (KC: 0.818), percutaneous coronary intervention (KC: 0.860) and hospital mortality (KC: 0.952). The remaining variables compared showed moderate or less than moderate agreement (KC < 0.6), and were grouped in Category II with less frequent documentation in AOK for risk factors and aspects of patients' history; in Category III with more frequent documentation in AOK for comorbidities; and in Category IV for medication at and after hospital discharge. CONCLUSIONS: Routine data are primarily collected and defined for reimbursement purposes. Quality assurance represents merely a secondary use. This explains why only a limited number of variables showed almost perfect agreement in documentation between AOK and BMIR. If routine data are to be used for quality assessment, they must be constantly monitored and further developed for this new application. Furthermore, routine data should be complemented with registry data by well-established methods of record linkage to realistically reflect the situation - also for those quality-associated variables not collected in routine data.

Implementation of the ESC STEMI guidelines in female and elderly patients over a 20-year period in a large German registry.

AIMS: We investigated the implementation of new guidelines in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients in a large real-world patient population in the metropolitan area of Berlin (Germany) over a 20-year period. METHODS: From January 2000 to December 2019, a total of 25 792 patients were admitted with STEMI to one of the 34 member hospitals of the Berlin-Brandenburg Myocardial Infarction Registry (B2HIR) and were stratified for sex and age < 75 and ≥ 75 years. RESULTS: The median age of women was 72 years (IQR 61-81) compared to 61 years in men (IQR 51-71). PCI treatment as a standard of care was implemented in men earlier than in women across all age groups. It took two years from the 2017 class IA ESC STEMI guideline recommendation to prefer the radial access route rather than femoral until > 60% of patients were treated accordingly. In 2019, less than 60% of elderly women were treated via a radial access. While the majority of patients < 75 years already received ticagrelor or prasugrel as antiplatelet agent in the year of the class IA ESC STEMI guideline recommendation in 2012, men ≥ 75 years lagged two years and women ≥ 75 three years behind. Amongst the elderly, in-hospital mortality was 22.6% (737) for women and 17.3% (523) for men (p < 0.001). In patients < 75 years fatal outcome was less likely with 7.2% (305) in women and 5.8% (833) in men (p < 0.001). After adjustment for confounding variables, female sex was an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality in patients ≥ 75 years (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.12-1.68, p = 0.002), but not in patients < 75 years (p = 0.076). CONCLUSION: In-hospital mortality differs considerably by age and sex and remains highest in elderly patients and in particular in elderly females. In these patient groups, guideline recommended therapies were implemented with a significant delay.

Effectiveness of vaccines in preventing hospitalization due to COVID-19: A multicenter hospital-based case-control study, Germany, June 2021 to January 2022.

We included 852 patients in a prospectively recruiting multicenter matched case-control study in Germany to assess vaccine effectiveness (VE) in preventing COVID-19-associated hospitalization during the Delta-variant dominance. The two-dose VE was 89 % (95 % CI 84-93 %) overall, 79 % in patients with more than two comorbidities and 77 % in adults aged 60-75 years. A third dose increased the VE to more than 93 % in all patient-subgroups.

Changes in treatment for NSTEMI in women and the elderly over the past 16 years in a large real-world population.

AIMS: This study investigates the changes in therapy for Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (NSTEMI) over the past 16 years in a large German registry. In particular, the high-risk population of female and elderly patients was analyzed. METHODS: In total, 19.383 patients presenting with NSTEMI were included in this study. Patients were stratified by age groups <75 years and ≥75 years and by sex. Four different time periods from 2000-2004, 2005-2008, 2009-2012 and 2013-2016 were compared. Influence on hospital mortality as the primary outcome measure was assessed by logistic regression analysis. Secondary outcome measures included percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), the use of drug eluting stents (DES), radial access route and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), defined as all-cause mortality, stroke, re-infarction, percutaneous re-intervention, intervention-related bleeding, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and new onset of cardiogenic shock or need for mechanical ventilation. RESULTS: Mortality decreased in all age groups between the initial time period and the most recent one (8.9% vs. 4.5%, p < 0.01), particularly in female patients ≥75 years (18.2% in 2000-2004 vs. 7.9% in 2013-2016, p < 0.01). Revascularization rates differed by gender (68.3% in women vs. 78.1% in men, p < 0.01) and by age (64.2% for ≥75 years vs. 80.9% for <75 years, p < 0.01). PCI rates in elderly female patients increased from 28.7% to 69.8% (p < 0.01) from the initial to the latest period. CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrates, that revascularization rates improved in all patient groups over the study period. However, females and elderly patients still remain less likely to be treated according to current guidelines.

Paclitaxel-eluting or sirolimus-eluting stents to prevent restenosis in diabetic patients.

BACKGROUND: Drug-eluting stents are highly effective in reducing the rate of in-stent restenosis. It is not known whether there are differences in the effectiveness of currently approved drug-eluting stents in the high-risk subgroup of patients with diabetes mellitus. METHODS: We enrolled 250 patients with diabetes and coronary artery disease: 125 were randomly assigned to receive paclitaxel-eluting stents, and 125 to receive sirolimus-eluting stents. The primary end point was in-segment late luminal loss. Secondary end points were angiographic restenosis (defined as in-segment stenosis of at least 50 percent at follow-up angiography) and the need for revascularization of the target lesion during a nine-month follow-up period. The study was designed to show noninferiority of the paclitaxel stent as compared with the sirolimus stent, defined as a difference in the extent of in-segment late luminal loss of no more than 0.16 mm. RESULTS: The extent of in-segment late luminal loss was 0.24 mm (95 percent confidence interval, 0.09 to 0.39) greater in the paclitaxel-stent group than in the sirolimus-stent group (P=0.002). In-segment restenosis was identified on follow-up angiography in 16.5 percent of the patients in the paclitaxel-stent group and 6.9 percent of the patients in the sirolimus-stent group (P=0.03). Target-lesion revascularization was performed in 12.0 percent of the patients in the paclitaxel-stent group and 6.4 percent of the patients in the sirolimus-stent group (P=0.13). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with diabetes mellitus and coronary artery disease, use of the sirolimus-eluting stent is associated with a decrease in the extent of late luminal loss, as compared with use of the paclitaxel-eluting stent, suggesting a reduced risk of restenosis.

A clinical trial of abciximab in elective percutaneous coronary intervention after pretreatment with clopidogrel.

BACKGROUND: Whether the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor abciximab is beneficial in patients undergoing elective percutaneous coronary intervention after pretreatment with clopidogrel is unknown. METHODS: We enrolled 2159 patients with coronary artery disease who underwent a percutaneous coronary intervention: 1079 patients were randomly assigned in a double-blind manner to receive abciximab and 1080 patients to receive placebo. All patients were pretreated with a 600-mg dose of clopidogrel at least two hours before the procedure. The primary end point of the trial was the composite of death, myocardial infarction, and urgent target-vessel revascularization within 30 days after randomization. RESULTS: The incidence of the primary end point was 4 percent (45 patients) in the abciximab group, as compared with 4 percent (43 patients) in the placebo group (relative risk, 1.05; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.69 to 1.59; P=0.82). Most adverse events were myocardial infarctions: the incidence was 4 percent (40 patients) in the abciximab group and 4 percent (41 patients) in the placebo group (P=0.91). Twelve patients (1 percent) in the abciximab group and eight patients (1 percent) in the placebo group had major bleeding complications (P=0.37). Profound thrombocytopenia occurred in 10 patients (1 percent) in the abciximab group but in none in the placebo group (P=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that in patients at low-to-intermediate risk who undergo elective percutaneous coronary intervention after pretreatment with a high loading dose of clopidogrel, abciximab is associated with no clinically measurable benefit within the first 30 days.

Abciximab and angiographic restenosis after coronary stent placement. Analysis of the angiographic substudy of ISAR-REACT--a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial evaluating abciximab in patients undergoing elective percutaneous coronary interventions after pretreatment with a high loading dose of clopidogrel.

BACKGROUND: ISAR-REACT was a trial designed to evaluate whether the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor abciximab is beneficial in patients undergoing elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with stent placement after pretreatment with a 600 mg loading dose of clopidogrel. Objective for the angiographic substudy was to determine the impact of abciximab on angiographic restenosis after coronary stent placement. Previous analyses have suggested a reduction in the incidence of restenosis after the administration of abciximab. METHODS: The angiographic substudy comprises 1885 of 2159 patients enrolled in ISAR-REACT: 994 patients were randomly assigned to abciximab and 941 patients to placebo. All patients were scheduled for a routine angiographic follow-up after 6 months (performed in 80% of eligible patients). End points for the angiographic substudy were the rates of angiographic restenosis (> or = 50% diameter stenosis) and target lesion revascularization. RESULTS: The incidence of angiographic restenosis was 27% in the abciximab group and 29% in the placebo group (relative risk 0.92, 95% CI 0.79-1.06, P = .27). Late angiographic lumen loss was 0.95 +/- 0.68 and 0.99 +/- 0.70 mm, respectively (P = .25). Similar results were obtained in a subgroup analysis focusing on high-risk subsets. The rate of target lesion revascularization procedures was 22% in the abciximab group and 23% in the placebo group (relative risk 0.94, 95% CI 0.79-1.12, P = .52). CONCLUSIONS: In low- to intermediate-risk patients who undergo elective PCI after pretreatment with a high loading dose of clopidogrel >2 hours before PCI, the additional administration of the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor abciximab is not associated with a significant reduction in angiographic restenosis.

Abciximab in patients with acute coronary syndromes undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention after clopidogrel pretreatment: the ISAR-REACT 2 randomized trial.

CONTEXT: No specifically designed studies have addressed the role of the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor abciximab in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes (ACS) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) after pretreatment with 600 mg of clopidogrel. OBJECTIVE: To assess whether abciximab is associated with clinical benefit in high-risk patients with ACS undergoing PCI after pretreatment with 600 mg of clopidogrel. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS: International, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study conducted from March 2003 through December 2005, enrolling 2022 patients (mean age, 66 years) with non-ST-segment elevation ACS undergoing PCI. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were assigned to receive either abciximab (0.25 mg/kg of body weight bolus, followed by a 0.125-microg/kg per minute [maximum, 10 microg/min] infusion for 12 hours, plus heparin, 70 U/kg of body weight) or placebo (placebo bolus and infusion of 12 hours, plus heparin bolus, 140 U/kg). All patients received clopidogrel, 600 mg, at least 2 hours prior to the procedure, as well as 500 mg of oral or intravenous aspirin. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary end point was a composite of death, myocardial infarction, or urgent target vessel revascularization occurring within 30 days after randomization; secondary end points were rates of in-hospital major and minor bleeding. RESULTS: Of 2022 patients enrolled, 1012 were assigned to abciximab and 1010 to placebo. The primary end point was reached in 90 patients (8.9%) assigned to abciximab vs 120 patients (11.9%) assigned to placebo, a 25% reduction in risk with abciximab (relative risk [RR], 0.75; 95% CI, 0.58-0.97; P = .03). Among patients without an elevated troponin level, there was no difference in the incidence of primary end point events between the abciximab group (23/499 patients [4.6%]) and the placebo group (22/474 patients [4.6%]) (RR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.56-1.76; P = .98), whereas among patients with an elevated troponin level, the incidence of events was significantly lower in the abciximab group (67/513 patients [13.1%]) compared with the placebo group (98/536 patients [18.3%]), which corresponds to an RR of 0.71 (95% CI, 0.54-0.95; P = .02) (P = .07 for interaction). There were no significant differences between the 2 groups regarding the risk of major and minor bleeding as well as need for transfusion. CONCLUSIONS: Abciximab reduces the risk of adverse events in patients with non-ST-segment elevation ACS undergoing PCI after pretreatment with 600 mg of clopidogrel. The benefits provided by abciximab appear to be confined to patients presenting with an elevated troponin level. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00133003.

The Emergency Medical Care of Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction.

BACKGROUND: Optimizing the emergency medical care chain might shorten the time to treatment of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The initial care by a physician, and, in particular, correct ECG interpretation, are critically important factors. METHODS: From 1999 onward, data on the care of patients with myocardial infarction have been recorded and analyzed in the Berlin Myocardial Infarction Registry. In the First Medical Contact Study, data on initial emergency medical care were obtained on 1038 patients who had been initially treated by emergency physicians in 2012. Their pre-hospital ECGs were re-evaluated in a blinded fashion according to the criteria of the European Society of Cardiology. RESULTS: The retrospective re-evaluation of pre-hospital ECGs revealed that 756 of the 1038 patients had sustained a STEMI. The emergency physicians had correctly diagnosed STEMI in 472 patients (62.4%), and they had correctly diagnosed ventricular fibrillation in 85 patients (11.2%); in 199 patients (26.3%), the ECG interpretation was unclear. The pre-hospital ECG interpretation was significantly associated with the site of initial hospitalization and the ensuing times to treatment. In particular, the time from hospital admission to cardiac catheterization was longer in patients with an unclear initial ECG interpretation than in those with correctly diagnosed STEMI (121 [54; 705] vs. 36 [19; 60] minutes, p <0.001). After multivariate adjustment, this corresponded to a hazard ratio* of 2.67 [2.21; 3.24]. CONCLUSION: Pre-hospital ECG interpretation in patients with STEMI was a trigger factor with a major influence on the time to treatment in the hospital. The considerable percentage of pre-hospital ECGs whose interpretation was unclear implies that there is much room for improvement.

Randomized clinical trial of abciximab in diabetic patients undergoing elective percutaneous coronary interventions after treatment with a high loading dose of clopidogrel.

BACKGROUND: Diabetic patients are at increased risk of adverse outcomes after percutaneous coronary interventions. Although subset analyses suggest particular benefit from the administration of abciximab in diabetic patients, no dedicated large randomized trials have been performed in diabetic patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention, and certainly not after pretreatment with a high loading dose of clopidogrel. METHODS AND RESULTS: This study (Intracoronary Stenting and Antithrombotic Regimen: Is Abciximab a Superior Way to Eliminate Elevated Thrombotic Risk in Diabetics [ISAR-SWEET] Study) enrolled 701 diabetic patients with coronary artery disease who underwent an elective percutaneous coronary intervention after pretreatment with a 600-mg dose of clopidogrel >2 hours before the procedure: 351 patients were randomly assigned to abciximab and 350 patients to placebo. The primary end point of the trial was the composite incidence of death and myocardial infarction at 1 year. The frequency of angiographic restenosis (diameter stenosis > or =50%) was the secondary end point. The incidence of death or myocardial infarction was 8.3% in the abciximab group and 8.6% in the placebo group (P=0.91), with a relative risk of 0.97 (95% CI, 0.58 to 1.62). The incidence of angiographic restenosis was 28.9% in the abciximab group and 37.8% in the placebo group (P=0.01), with a relative risk of 0.76 (95% CI, 0.62 to 0.94). The incidence of target lesion revascularization was 23.2% in the abciximab group and 30.4% in the placebo group (P=0.03). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study do not support a significant impact of abciximab on the risk of death and myocardial infarction in diabetic patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions after pretreatment with a 600-mg loading dose of clopidogrel at least 2 hours before the procedure. The present findings suggest, however, that abciximab reduces the risk of restenosis in diabetic patients receiving coronary bare metal stents.

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of oral sirolimus for restenosis prevention in patients with in-stent restenosis: the Oral Sirolimus to Inhibit Recurrent In-stent Stenosis (OSIRIS) trial.

BACKGROUND: Despite recent advances in interventional cardiology, including the introduction of drug-eluting stents for de novo coronary lesions, the treatment of in-stent restenosis (ISR) remains a challenging clinical issue. Given the efficacy of systemic sirolimus administration to prevent neointimal hyperplasia in animal models and to halt and even reverse the progression of allograft vasculopathy, the aim of the present double-blind, placebo-controlled study was to evaluate the efficacy of a 10-day oral sirolimus treatment with 2 different loading regimens for the prevention of recurrent restenosis in patients with ISR. METHODS AND RESULTS: Three hundred symptomatic patients with ISR were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatment arms: placebo or usual-dose or high-dose sirolimus. Patients received a cumulative loading dose of 0, 8, or 24 mg of sirolimus 2 days before and the day of repeat intervention followed by maintenance therapy of 2 mg/d for 7 days. Angiographic restenosis at 6-month angiography was the primary end point of the study. Restenosis was significantly reduced from 42.2% to 38.6% and to 22.1% in the placebo, usual-dose, and high-dose sirolimus groups, respectively (P=0.005). Similarly, the need for target vessel revascularization was reduced from 25.5% to 24.2% and to 15.2% in the placebo, usual-dose, and high-dose groups, respectively (P=0.08). The sirolimus blood concentration on the day of the procedure correlated significantly with the late lumen loss at follow-up (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with ISR, an oral adjunctive sirolimus treatment with an intensified loading regimen before coronary intervention resulted in a significant improvement in the angiographic parameters of restenosis.

Therapy-dependent influence of time-to-treatment interval on myocardial salvage in patients with acute myocardial infarction treated with coronary artery stenting or thrombolysis.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between myocardial salvage and time-to-treatment interval in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) treated with coronary artery stenting or thrombolysis has not been studied. METHODS AND RESULTS: This study analyzed 264 patients with AMI randomized to coronary stenting (133 patients) or thrombolysis (131 patients) in the setting of 2 randomized trials. Patients were divided into the following 3 groups defined by tertiles of the time-to-treatment interval: lower tertile (<165 minutes), middle tertile (165 to 280 minutes), and upper tertile (>280 minutes). Paired scintigraphic examinations were performed to obtain salvage index, which was the primary end point of the study. In the group with thrombolysis, the salvage index (median [25th; 75th] percentile) was 0.45 (0.16; 0.83) in the lower, 0.29 (0.17; 0.48) in the middle, and 0.20 (0.04; 0.46) in the upper tertile (P=0.03). In the group with stenting, the salvage index was 0.56 (0.49; 0.75) in the lower, 0.57 (0.36; 0.73) in the middle, and 0.57 (0.32; 0.75) in the upper tertile (P=0.59). In patients treated with stenting, the salvage index was greater than in patients treated with thrombolysis in the lower (0.56 versus 0.45, P=0.09), middle (0.57 versus 0.29, P=0.0003), and upper (0.57 versus 0.20, P=0.0005) tertiles of the time-to-treatment interval. CONCLUSIONS: The influence of the time-to-treatment interval on the myocardial salvage in patients with AMI depends on the type of reperfusion therapy. Coronary artery stenting was superior to thrombolysis independent of the time-to-treatment intervals, and the difference in benefit increased with more prolonged time from symptom onset.

Predictive factors for early cardiac events and angiographic restenosis after coronary stent placement in small coronary arteries.

OBJECTIVES: The rationale of this study was to identify risk factors that predict early thrombotic events and angiographic restenosis after stenting in small coronary arteries. BACKGROUND: Rates of cardiac complications and restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention are higher in patients with small versus large coronary arteries. Because of discordant results, randomized studies comparing stent placement with balloon angioplasty could not establish the best interventional approach to use in this high-risk subset of patients. This study of predictive factors, with special focus on stent design, may provide particular help in this regard. METHODS: Clinical, lesion-related, and procedural data of a large and unselected population of 3,156 consecutive patients were analyzed in a logistic regression model for both early and late complications. Repeat angiography at six months was performed in 80.8% of eligible patients. RESULTS: The strongest risk factors for early thrombotic events (cumulative incidence of 4.2%) were the presence of an acute coronary syndrome and reduced left ventricular function. The stent design had no influence on early thrombotic complications. Restenosis (overall rate of 38.4%) was predominantly influenced by procedure-related variables, including the stent design and stented segment length. The incidence of restenosis varied from 29.6% to 55.8%, depending on the stent design used. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical factors known before the procedure are predominant risk factors for early thrombotic complications, underscoring the need for potent antiplatelet regimens in these patients. In contrast, our findings suggest a major impact of procedural factors, including the choice of stent type, on restenosis.

A randomized trial comparing myocardial salvage achieved by coronary stenting versus balloon angioplasty in patients with acute myocardial infarction considered ineligible for reperfusion therapy.

OBJECTIVES: We assessed myocardial salvage achieved by reperfusion with percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) and compared stenting with balloon angioplasty (PTCA) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) ineligible for thrombolysis. BACKGROUND: A substantial proportion of patients with AMI are currently considered ineligible for thrombolysis, and reperfusion treatment is frequently not recommended for them. It is not known whether these patients benefit from PCI. METHODS: The Stent or PTCA for Occluded Coronary Arteries in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction Ineligible for Thrombolysis (STOPAMI-3) trial, a randomized, open-label study, included 611 patients with AMI who were ineligible for thrombolysis (lack of ST-segment elevation on the electrocardiogram, late presentation >12 h after symptom onset, and contraindications to thrombolysis). Patients were randomly assigned to receive either coronary artery stenting (n = 305) or PTCA (n = 306). Scintigraphic myocardial salvage index (proportion of the initial myocardial perfusion defect that was salvaged by reperfusion) was the primary end point of the study. RESULTS: A considerable myocardial salvage was achieved with both stenting and PTCA. In patients assigned to receive stenting, the median size of the salvage index was 0.54 (25th and 75th percentiles, 0.29 and 0.87), as compared with a median of 0.50 (25th and 75th percentiles, 0.26 and 0.82) in the group assigned to receive PTCA (p = 0.20). Mortality at six months was 8.2% in the group of patients assigned to receive stenting and 9.2% in the group of patients assigned to receive PTCA (p = 0.69). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with AMI who are currently considered ineligible for thrombolysis by conventional guidelines may greatly benefit from primary PCI. The benefit seems to be comparable when a strategy of stenting is compared with a strategy of PTCA in these patients.

Intracoronary stenting and angiographic results: strut thickness effect on restenosis outcome (ISAR-STEREO-2) trial.

OBJECTIVES: We tested the hypothesis that thinner-strut stents are associated with a reduced rate of restenosis when comparing two stents with different design. BACKGROUND: We have previously shown that, for two stents with similar design, the risk for restenosis is dependent on the strut thickness. It is unknown whether strut thickness preserves its relevance as a determinant of restenosis even in the presence of different stent designs. METHODS: A total of 611 patients with symptomatic coronary artery disease were randomly assigned to receive either the thin-strut ACS RX Multilink stent (Guidant, Advanced Cardiovascular Systems, Santa Clara, California) (strut thickness 50 microm, interconnected ring design; n = 309) or the thick-strut BX Velocity stent (Cordis Corp., Miami, Florida) (strut thickness 140 microm, closed cell design; n = 302). The primary end point was angiographic restenosis (> or =50% diameter stenosis at follow-up angiography). Secondary end points were the incidence of target-vessel revascularization (TVR) and the combined rate of death and myocardial infarction (MI) at one year. RESULTS: The incidence of angiographic restenosis was 17.9% in the thin-strut group and 31.4% in the thick-strut group, relative risk, 0.57 (95% confidence interval, 0.39 to 0.84), p < 0.001. A TVR due to restenosis was required in 12.3% of the thin-strut group and 21.9% of the thick-strut group, relative risk, 0.56 (95% confidence interval, 0.38 to 0.84), p = 0.002. No significant difference was observed in the combined incidence of death and MI at one year. CONCLUSIONS: When two stents with different design are compared, the stent with thinner struts elicits less angiographic and clinical restenosis than the thicker-strut stent.

Inflammatory response after intervention assessed by serial C-reactive protein measurements correlates with restenosis in patients treated with coronary stenting.

OBJECTIVES: We hypothesized that a higher degree of inflammatory response to coronary stenting, as measured by the change in C-reactive protein (CRP) levels after intervention in patients with stable or unstable angina, would be related to a higher risk of in-stent restenosis. METHODS: We studied 1800 consecutive patients with stable or unstable angina treated with coronary stenting. C-reactive protein levels were serially measured before and after the intervention. The difference (Delta) between highest CRP values after intervention and CRP values before intervention was calculated. Patients were grouped into tertiles according to DeltaCRP values. The primary end point was angiographic restenosis (diameter stenosis > or = 50% at 6-month angiography). The secondary end point was clinical restenosis, defined as target vessel revascularization performed in the presence of angiographic restenosis and symptoms or signs of ischemia. RESULTS: No relationship was found between CRP values at baseline and angiographic restenosis (P = .88). On the other hand, the change between baseline and peak postintervention CRP values strongly correlated with angiographic restenosis (30.5% in the upper tertile with DeltaCRP values >11.8 mg/L, 25.3% in the middle tertile with DeltaCRP values 3.0-11.8 mg/L, and 21.5% in the lower tertile with DeltaCRP values < 3.0 mg/L, P = .002) as well as with clinical restenosis (P = .01). Patients in the upper tertile had the highest risk of restenosis even after adjustment for other covariates. CONCLUSIONS: The inflammatory response to coronary stenting as assessed by the change in CRP correlates with the development of in-stent restenosis. These findings provide strong support for the role of inflammation in restenosis.