Drug-coated balloon for the management of coronary chronic total occlusions.

There is a higher rate of successful recanalization of patients with coronary chronic total occlusions, nevertheless, the rate of patients referred for revascularization remains low. In addition, there is a greater need to improve long-term outcomes of chronic total occlusions after percutaneous coronary intervention, and although the implantation of new-generation drug-eluting stents has been optimized with coronary imaging guidance, the rate of stenting failure remains a major issue and long-term vessel patency could be improved. We reviewed clinical data regarding the benefit of treating chronic total occlusions and the use of drug-coated balloons as an alternative therapeutic modality in this setting. Although clinical data is limited, the initial evidence and the daily clinical practice point towards a synergistic hybrid treatment strategy based on the combination of drug-coated balloons plus drug-eluting stents, reducing the total stent length and maintaining the scaffolding properties of stents where it is mandatory. Additionally, drug-coated balloons allow natural enlargement of the open vessel after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), which is a major limitation of stents in chronic total occlusion (CTO).

DCBs as an adjuvant tool to DES for very complex coronary lesions.

Drug eluting stents (DES) have revolutionised interventional cardiology and currently represent the standard for percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI). However, due to several limitations, new strategies are required, especially in very complex lesions. Drug-coated balloons (DCB) offer an attractive therapeutic alternative, and have already obtained a Class I recommendation for the treatment of in stent restenosis (ISR) with Level A of evidence. Moreover, the role of DCB has been tested in several other settings, such as de novo large vessel disease, multivessel disease or very complex lesions, with promising results regarding safety and effectiveness. In this context, a hybrid strategy consisting in the use of a DES and DCB with the aim of reducing the amount of metal implanted and minimising the risk of ISR and stent thrombosis could become the solution for very complex lesions. Several important studies already demonstrated very good angiographic results in terms of late lumen loss and restenosis for this approach in bifurcation lesions. Moreover, for long diffuse coronary disease similar rates of MACE, TVR, and TLR at 2-year follow-up in comparison to a DES-alone strategy were found. What is more, the use of this strategy in high-bleeding risk patients could safely permit the practitioners to reduce the DAPT duration, as data is suggesting. As our daily practice already strongly incorporated this strategy and with more data expected from important trials, it is our strong believe that the hybrid approach can become a standard treatment choice in the near future.

Clinical outcomes of a dedicated bifurcation stent system.

INTRODUCTION: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of bifurcation lesions is technically challenging and associated with higher rates of complications such as stent thrombosis or in-stent restenosis. In this paper, we present the clinical outcomes of BiOSS LIM C (Balton, Poland), a dedicated bifurcation stent. METHODS: In this retrospective single-center study we analyzed the outcome of patients with bifurcation coronary artery disease treated with the BiOSS LIM C stent system. The primary endpoint was the cumulative rate of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) including cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI) and target lesion revascularisation (TLR) at the longest available follow-up. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 25 patients (mean age 73.6 ± 9.7 years, 25 % females). In 80 % of the cases (n = 20) BiOSS LIM C stent was implanted in the left main coronary artery. Intravascular imaging was used in 70 % of the cases and an additional regular drug-eluting stent (DES) was deployed in the side branch in 24 % of the cases. The device success rate was 100 % and we observed no in-hospital adverse events. At a median follow-up of 15 ± 6 months, the MACE rate was 56 %, cardiac death was 4 %, and clinically driven TLR was 55 %. One patient died in the LM subgroup, 5 months after the index PCI, due to NSTEMI complicated by cardiogenic shock. Two patients died due to non-cardiac causes. CONCLUSIONS: In this consecutive series of patients treated with BiOSS LIM C in major coronary bifurcation lesions, mostly in the left main stem, the mid-term clinical outcomes demonstrated a high incidence of major adverse events, mainly caused by TLR, despite an adequate implantation technique.

The Correlation Between Gender and Accessory Pathways.

Background Accessory pathways (APs) are muscular bundles capable of rapid conduction between atria and ventricles. They can be located anywhere along the atrioventricular groove or septum. The etiology of such pathways is generally unknown. This study aims to evaluate the correlation between gender, AP location, and clinical presentation. Methods This is a retrospective study of 139 patients who underwent radiofrequency ablations for newly diagnosed accessory pathways between years 2010 and 2016. Information extracted from the medical records included: age at the time of diagnosis, gender, characteristics, and anatomical location of the accessory pathways. Results A total of 139 patients with AP were enrolled in the study. The mean age of diagnosis was 32.2 ± 13.5 years. With regards to gender, APs were more common among men (p-value 0.04). Males were predominant in both the right and left AP groups (p-value 0.025), although, overall, most of the AP were left located. Also, males were more commonly diagnosed with right posteroseptal (RPS) accessory pathways while females with left lateral (LL) pathways. Concerning the clinical presentation, the manifest form was more frequent than concealed. Males were prevalent in both groups (p-value 0.38). Conclusion Gender components might have a role in the pathogenesis of AP formation.