Impact on daily clinical practice of the latest evidence on percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale after cryptogenic stroke: a single-center experience.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: At the end of 2017, three clinical trials demonstrated that, in selected patients, percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale (PFO) after cryptogenic stroke (CS) reduces the risk of recurrence. Our aim was to determine the impact of these findings on routine clinical practice in a tertiary hospital. METHODS: Patients with CS and percutaneous closure of PFO during 2001-2020 were included. The clinical characteristics of the patient and the anatomical characteristics of the foramen were analyzed. Based on both, the closure indications were classified into three groups according to the latest European recommendations and were analyzed in two periods, before and after the publication date of the clinical trials. RESULTS: A total of 293 patients were included. The mean age was 49 ± 11 years, and 15% were older than 60 years. The median RoPE score was 6 [p25-75, 5-7] and 75% had complex anatomy (CA). After the publication of the studies, the frequency of CA and the mean age of the patients were significantly higher (89% vs. 69% p < 0.0005 and 51 ± 11 vs. 48 ± 11 years, p = 0.02, respectively), and the RoPE score, significantly lower (5 [5-7] versus 6 [5-7], p = 0.02). Inadequate closure indications were significantly reduced (8% vs. 18%, p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: After the publication of clinical trials that have shown benefit of PFO closure after CS, the number of inappropriate indications for closure has decreased significantly in our institution, with a higher percentage of CA, despite a clinical profile suggestive of lower causal probability of PFO.

Optical coherence tomography evaluation of late strut coverage patterns between first-generation drug-eluting stents and everolimus-eluting stent.

OBJECTIVES: To compare strut coverage patterns between everolimus-eluting stent (EES) and first-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) at more than 12 months after successful implantation, using optical coherence tomography (OCT). BACKGROUND: No sufficient OCT data has been reported comparing late strut coverage patterns between EES and first-generation DES. The favorable late results after EES implantation could be related to lower rates of uncovered and malapposed struts. METHODS: A total of 66 DES (21 EES, 23 SES, and 22 PES) that were implanted at least 1 year in advance in 40 patients and met good late angiographic results were evaluated by OCT. The percentage of uncovered and malapposed struts, calculated as the ratio of uncovered or malapposed struts to total struts in all cross-sectional images per stent, was compared among the three groups. RESULTS: A total of 35,061 struts were analyzed: 11,967 from EES, 11,855 from SES, and 11m239 from PES. The average tissue coverage thickness of the struts per stent was greater in EES than in SES and PES (109 ± 40 µm vs. 72 ± 27 µm and 83 ± 26 µm, respectively; P = 0.001). The percentage of uncovered struts (1.9 ± 4.1% in EES vs. 11.6 ± 12.7% in SES, P = 0.01 and vs. 7.1 ± 5.2% in PES, P < 0.001) and malapposed struts (0.1 ± 0.3% in EES vs. 1.8 ± 3.5% in SES, P = 0.01 and vs. 3.5 ± 5.1% in PES, P = 0.02) was much lower in EES than in first-generation DES, with no significant differences between SES and PES. CONCLUSIONS: Late strut coverage patterns are not similar between EES and first-generation DES. EES showed a lower percentage of uncovered and malapposed struts.