Value of monitoring pulse oximetry for imputability of patent foramen ovale in transient dyspnoea.

Diagnosis of patent foramen ovale (PFO) is commonly made by echocardiography with contrast injection. PFO can be responsible for a transient right-to-left shunting with paroxysmal dyspnoea but punctual measurements of oxygen saturation may fail to detect arterial desaturations. Thus, claiming the imputability of PFO in dyspnoeic symptoms remains difficult. We report on the case of a 64-year-old man presenting an intermittent disabilitating dyspnoea, for which the pulse oximetry monitoring allowed to impute symptoms to the right-to-left shunting through the PFO and influenced the decision of percutaneous closure.

Procedural and early clinical outcomes of patients with de novo coronary bifurcation lesions treated with the novel Nile PAX dedicated bifurcation polymer-free paclitaxel coated stents: results from the prospective, multicentre, non-randomised BIPAX clinical trial.

AIMS: To demonstrate the acute and early outcomes of the novel Nile PAX dedicated polymer-free paclitaxel-coated stents (Minvasys SAS, Gennevilliers, France) in the treatment of de novo coronary bifurcation lesions. METHODS AND RESULTS: The Nile PAX device incorporates a cobalt-chromium alloy with a side aperture in the mid-stent designed to optimise scaffold at the bifurcation carina and side branch (SB) ostium, while maintaining SB access during procedure. From December 2008 to February 2010, 101 patients were prospectively enrolled in a non-randomised, multicentre study. Lesion criteria were: vessel size 2.5-3.5 mm in the parent vessel (PV) and 2.0-3.0 mm in the SB, and lesion length <14 mm in the PV, and <5 mm in the SB. Mean age was 63 years, 29% had diabetes, LAD/Dg was involved in 80.4%, and 61.7% had significant involvement of both branches. The study stent was successfully attempted and implanted in 98%. SB received additional stent in 26% final kissing-balloon inflation was performed in 93% and lesion (angiographic) success was achieved in 98%. There was only one non-Q myocardial infarction during hospitalisation, and no additional events up to 30 days. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary results of the prospective, non-randomised, multicentre BIPAX clinical trial demonstrated encouraging results with the novel Nile PAX bifurcation DES in the treatment of coronary bifurcation lesions, including high device and procedural success. Overall, there was only one major adverse cardiac event during hospitalisation, with no additional events up to 30 days follow-up. Long-term follow-up is warranted.

First-in-human feasibility and safety study of a true bifurcated stent for the treatment of bifurcation coronary artery lesions (DBS stent): six month angiographic results and five year clinical follow-up.

AIMS: To evaluate the safety and long-term efficacy of a true dedicated bifurcation bare metal stent (DBS) for the treatment of bifurcation coronary artery lesions. METHODS AND RESULTS: Thirty-four patients were enrolled in this prospective multicentre study. The majority of culprit lesions were located on the left anterior descending artery/diagonal bifurcation (n=19) followed by the distal protected left main (n=7), the left circumflex artery/obtuse marginal (n=4) and the distal right coronary artery/posterior descending artery (n=4). Successful delivery of the DBS stent at the bifurcation site was achieved in 32 patients (94%). Angiographic follow-up at six months was complete in 29 patients (91%). Clinical follow-up was achieved at five years in all DBS patients. There were no cardiac deaths or stent thrombosis. At six months, the MACE rate was 6/32 (19%) and the total binary restenosis rate was 10/29 (34%). MACE at 5 years consisted only in target vessel revascularisation and occurred in eight patients (25%). CONCLUSIONS: The DBS bare metal true bifurcated stent can be delivered successfully and safely in selected bifurcated lesions and has demonstrated long-term efficacy in most patients.

Stenting of bifurcation lesions using the Bestent: a prospective dual-center study.

Treatment of bifurcation lesions remains a technical challenge. Among 13 stents previously tested in a bench study, the Bestent seemed of particular interest in this indication as it provided good access to the side branch after stent implantation in the main branch associated with a satisfactory coverage of the lesion after kissing balloon inflation. The use of Bestent implanted in the main branch or both branches for treatment of bifurcation lesions involving a side branch > or = 2.2 mm in diameter was prospectively evaluated in a dual-center prospective study with a prospective 6-month clinical follow-up. All angiographic documents were analyzed by an independent corelab (CORISIS). Between 11 September 1997 and 21 February 1998, 96 patients were consecutively included (mean age, 63.7 +/- 11.4 years; 81.3% male; 58.3% with unstable angina and 6.3% acute myocardial infarction). The lesion involved the left anterior descending-diagonal coronary bifurcation in 55% of cases, left circumflex-marginal 23%, posterior descending-postero-lateral 12%, distal left main 6%, and others 4%. The main branch (proximal reference diameter: 3.43 +/- 0.45 mm) was stented in 98% of cases and the side branch (2.72 +/- 0.38 mm) in 38% (both branches in 34% of cases). T-stenting or provisional T-stenting was used in 88% of cases and final kissing balloon inflation was performed in 78% of cases. Procedural success was obtained in 100% of cases in the main branch and 98% in both branches. Major cardiac and cerebral events (MACCE) during hospitalization occurred in 4.2% of cases, non-Q-wave myocardial infarction (MI) in 3.1%, Q-wave MI in 1.0%, repeat PTCA in 2.1%; there were no major access site complication, no emergency coronary artery bypass grafting operation, no death. At 6-month follow-up, total MACCE rate was 14.6% (Q-wave MI, 3.1%; non-Q-wave MI, 3.1%; target vessel revascularization, 9.4%; death, 2.1%). Patients with target vessel revascularization (TVR) had restenosis of both branches in 22.2% of cases, main branch in 22.2%, and side branch in 55.6%. This study shows that using a simple strategy of provisional T-stenting of the side branch in the majority of cases, the Bestent can be used for treating bifurcation lesions with a high rate of success and an acceptable rate of TVR at 6-month follow-up.