Impact of lesion morphology on stent elongation during bifurcation PCI: an in vivo OCT study.

BACKGROUND: Recent observations in silico and in vivo reported that, during proximal optimisation technique, drug-eluting stents (DES) elongate, challenging conventional wisdom. The interaction between plaque morphology and radial expansion is well established, but little is known about the impact of plaque morphology on elongation. AIMS: We aimed to assess the longitudinal mechanical behaviour of contemporary DES in vivo and evaluate the relationship between post-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) stent elongation and lesion morphology, as assessed with optical coherence tomography (OCT). METHODS: Patients treated with OCT-guided PCI to left main or left anterior descending artery bifurcations, between July 2017 and March 2022, from the King's Optical coherence Database Analysis Compendium were included. Patients were excluded if there were overlapping stents, if they had undergone prior PCI, or if there was inadequate image quality. Lesions were characterised as fibrocalcific, fibrous or lipid-rich by pre-PCI OCT. Following stent post-dilatation, stent expansion and final stent length were assessed. The primary outcome was the percentage change in stent length from baseline. RESULTS: Of 501 eligible consecutive patients from this period, 116 were included. The median age was 66 years (interquartile range [IQR] 57-76), 31% were female, and 53.4% were treated for an acute coronary syndrome. A total of 50.0% of lesions were classified as fibrocalcific, 6.9% were fibrous, and 43.1% were lipid-rich. The change in relative stent length was 4.4% (IQR 1.0-8.9), with an increase of 3.1% (IQR 0.5-6.3) in fibrocalcific lesions, 3.3% (IQR 0.5-5.9) in fibrous lesions, and 6.4% (IQR 3.1-11.1) in lipid-rich plaque (p=0.006). In multivariate regression modelling, lipid-rich plaque was an independent predictor of stent elongation (odds ratio 3.689, 95% confidence interval: 1.604-8.484). CONCLUSIONS: Contemporary DES elongate following implantation and post-dilatation, and this is significantly mediated by plaque morphology. This is an important consideration when planning a strategy for DES implantation.

Incidence, Prediction, and Outcomes of Major Bleeding After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Chinese Patients.

Background: The patterns of late major bleeding (MB) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) remain unknown in Chinese patients. Objectives: This study sought to determine the incidence, prediction, and long-term outcomes of late MB in Chinese patients. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study from 14 hospitals in Hong Kong. Participants were patients undergoing first-time PCI without MB within 30 days or death within 1 year. Patients were stratified by the presence of late MB, defined as MB between 30 and 365 days. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality. The secondary endpoints were major adverse cardiac events (MACE). Results: A total of 32,057 patients were analyzed. After adjustment for baseline characteristics, periprocedural characteristics, and medications on discharge, the risks of all-cause mortality at 5 years were significantly higher with late MB (HR: 2.15; 95% CI: 1.92-2.41; P < 0.001). Late MB was also associated with a higher risk of MACE (HR: 1.57; 95% CI: 1.03-1.50; P < 0.001), myocardial infarction (HR: 1.25; 95% CI: 1.04-1.52; P = 0.02), and stroke (HR: 1.38; 95% CI: 1.09-1.73; P = 0.006). The CARDIAC (anti-Coagulation therapy, Age, Renal insufficiency, Drop In hemoglobin, baseline Anemia in Chinese patients) score had a good discriminating power for prediction of MB within 365 days (area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve: 0.76). Conclusions: Late MB was independently associated with a higher risk of mortality, MACE, myocardial infarction, and stroke in patients undergoing PCI. The CARDIAC score is a simple model that can predict MB after PCI. Prevention of MB represents an important strategy to optimize cardiovascular outcomes for patients undergoing PCI.

Survivals of Angiography-Guided Percutaneous Coronary Intervention and Proportion of Intracoronary Imaging at Population Level: The Imaging Paradox.

Background: There is a significant disparity between randomized controlled trials and observational studies with respect to any mortality benefit with intracoronary imaging during the percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This raises a suspicion that the imaging paradox, in which some operators may become over reliant on imaging and less proficient with angiography-guided PCI, might exist. Method: This was a retrospective cohort study from 14 hospitals under the Hospital Authority of Hong Kong between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2017. Participants were patients who underwent first-ever PCI. The association between mortality risks of patients undergoing angiography-guided PCI and three tertiles (low, medium, and high) of the proportion of PCI done under intracoronary imaging guidance at a population level (background imaging rate), were evaluated after confounder adjustment by multivariable logistic regression. Results: In an adjusted analysis of 11,816 patients undergoing angiography-guided PCI, the risks of all-cause mortality for those were higher in the high-tertile group compared with the low-tertile group (OR, 1.45, 95% CI, 1.10-1.92, P = 0.008), the risks of cardiovascular mortality were higher in the high-tertile group compared with the low-tertile group (OR, 1.51, 95% CI, 1.08-2.13, P = 0.017). The results were consistent with multiple sensitivity analyses. Threshold analysis suggested that the mortality risks of angiography-guided PCI were increased when the proportion of imaging-guided PCI exceeded approximately 50%. Conclusions: The risks of the all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality were higher for patients undergoing angiography-guided PCI in practices with a higher background imaging rate.

Impact of contrast-induced acute kidney injury on long-term major adverse cardiovascular events and kidney function after percutaneous coronary intervention: insights from a territory-wide cohort study in Hong Kong.

BACKGROUND: The impact of contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) on long-term major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) remains controversial. METHOD: This was a retrospective cohort study from 14 hospitals under the Hospital Authority of Hong Kong between 2004 and 2017. Severe CI-AKI was defined as an increase in serum creatinine of >50% from the baseline value, an absolute increase of >1 mg/dL (88 µmol/L) or requiring dialysis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Mild CI-AKI was defined as an increase in serum creatinine of >25% from the baseline value or an absolute increase of >0.5 mg/dL (44 µmol/L) after PCI but not fulfilling the criteria for severe CI-AKI. The primary endpoint was MACE, defined as a composite outcome of all-cause mortality, non-fatal myocardial infarction after hospital discharge, stroke or any unplanned coronary revascularization, in a time-to-first-event analysis up to 5 years after PCI. The secondary endpoints were individual components of MACE and cardiovascular mortality. RESULTS: A total of 34 576 patients were analysed. After adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors, procedural characteristics and medication use, the risk of MACE at 5 years was significantly higher with mild CI-AKI {hazard ratio [HR], 1.18 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12-1.26); P < 0.001} and severe CI-AKI [HR 1.92 (95% CI 1.78-2.07); P < 0.001]. Severe CI-AKI was associated with higher adjusted risks of each secondary end point and the risks monotonically accrued over time. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients undergoing a first-ever PCI, CI-AKI of any severity was associated with a higher adjusted risk of MACE at 5 years. Severe CI-AKI has a stronger association with MACE and its individual components, with an excess of early and late events.

Trade-off of major bleeding versus myocardial infarction on mortality after percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: The choice of antithrombotic therapy after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is heavily dependent on the relative trade-off between major bleeding (MB) and myocardial infarction (MI). However, the mortality trade-off was mostly described in Western populations and remained unknown in East Asians. METHOD: This was a retrospective cohort study from 14 hospitals under the Hospital Authority of Hong Kong between 2004 and 2017. Participants were patients undergoing first-time PCI and survived for the first year. Patients were stratified by the presence of MB and MI during the first year. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality between 1 and 5 years after PCI. The secondary endpoint was cardiovascular mortality. RESULTS: A total of 32 180 patients were analysed. After adjustment for baseline characteristics and using patients with neither events as reference, the risks of all-cause mortality were increased in patients with MI only (HR, 1.63; 95% CI 1.45 to 1.84; p<0.001), further increased in those with MB only (HR, 2.11, 95% CI 1.86 to 2.39; p<0.001) and highest in those with both (HR, 2.92; 95% CI 2.39 to 3.56; p<0.001). In both Cox regression and propensity score analyses, MB had a stronger impact on all-cause mortality than MI, but similar impact on cardiovascular mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Both MB and MI within the first year after PCI were associated with increase in all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in Chinese patients, but the impact was stronger with MB.