Optical Coherence Tomographic Observation of Morphological Features of Neointimal Tissue after Drug-Eluting Stent Implantation

Purpose

The impacts of different time courses and the degree of neointimal growth on neointimal morphology have not yet been sufficiently investigated. Therefore, we evaluated the morphological features of neointimal tissue after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation using optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Materials and Methods

The morphological features of neointimal tissue in stented segments with a maximal percentage of cross-sectional area (CSA) stenosis of neointima were evaluated in 507 DES-treated lesions with >100 µm mean neointimal thickness on follow-up OCT. Neointimal tissue was categorized as homogeneous, heterogeneous, layered, or neoatherosclerotic.

Results

In lesions with <50% of neointimal CSA stenosis, homogeneous neointima (68.2%) was predominant, followed by heterogeneous neointima (14.1%) and layered neointima (14.1%). In lesions with ≥50% of neointimal CSA stenosis, layered neointima was most frequently observed (68.3%), followed by neoatherosclerotic neointima (25.2%). In subgroup analysis of lesions with ≥50% of neointimal CSA stenosis, 89.5% of the lesions with a stent age <30 months were layered neointima, while 62.3% of the lesions with a stent age ≥30 months were neoatherosclerotic neointima.

Conclusion

This study suggests that the OCT-detected morphology of DES neointimal tissue was different according to the follow-up time course and degree of neointimal hyperplasia.     

Long-Term Clinical Outcomes and Optimal Stent Strategy in Left Main Coronary Bifurcation Stenting

Objectives

This study sought to investigate the long-term clinical effects of stent generation and stent strategy for left main coronary artery (LMCA) bifurcation lesion treatment.

Effect of cilostazol on in-stent neointimal hyperplasia after coronary artery stenting: a quantative coronary angiography and volumetric intravascular ultrasound study.

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to investigate the efficacy of cilostazol on the prevention of in-stent neointimal hyperplasia as measured by both quantitative coronary angiography (CAG) and volumetric intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). METHODS AND RESULTS: Fifty-nine patients (39 men, age 62 years) undergoing elective coronary stenting were randomly assigned to receive aspirin plus clopidogrel or ticlopidine (Group I, n=28, 30 lesions) or aspirin plus clopidogrel or ticlopidine plus cilostazol (Group II, n=31, 35 lesions). CAG and IVUS were performed and repeated at 6 months to assess the primary endpoints of minimal luminal diameter (MLD) and in-stent neointimal hyperplasia volume. Follow-up CAG was performed on all patients and follow-up IVUS study was available for 50 lesions in 48 patients (24 lesions in Group I, 26 in Group II). There were no significant differences in the baseline angiographic data between the 2 groups. At 6 months follow-up, in-stent MLD was 1.90+/-0.76 mm in Group I and 2.41+/-0.85 mm in Group II (p=0.006). Volumetric IVUS at 6 months demonstrated that in-stent intimal hyperplasia volume per stent length was 2.2+/-1.4 mm3/mm in Group I and 1.0+/-0.5 mm3/mm in Group II (p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Triple antiplatelet therapy including cilostazol seems to be more effective at preventing in-stent neointimal hyperplasia than a dual antiplatelet regimen.     

Comparison of sirolimus‐eluting stent and paclitaxel‐eluting stent for long‐term cardiac adverse events in diabetic patients: The Korean multicenter angioplasty team (KOMATE) registry

Background: There is some controversy on long‐term cardiac outcomes between sirolimus‐eluting stents (SES) and paclitaxel‐eluting stents (PES) in diabetes mellitus (DM). We compared cardiac adverse events after SES and PES implantation in patients with DM over a period of 3 year. Methods: A total of 634 patients with DM treated with SES (n = 428) or PES (n = 206) were consecutively enrolled in the KOMATE registry from 2003 to 2004. We assessed major adverse cardiac events (MACEs, cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, ischemia driven target vessel revascularization) and stent thrombosis (ST) according to the definitions set by the Academic Research Consortium. Results: Propensity score (PS) analysis was performed to adjust different baseline characteristics. The mean follow‐up duration was 38 ± 8 month (at least 36 month and up to 53 month). The 3‐year MACE rate did not show a significant difference between the two groups [52 (12.1%) in SES vs. 29 (14.1%) in PES, P = 0.496]. The definite and probable ST at 3 year were similar in both SES and PES [12 (2.8%) in SES vs. 7 (3.4%) in PES, P = 0.681]. There were no differences in hazard ratio for MACE and ST between two stents [MACE, crude: 0.844 (0.536–1.330) and adjusted for PS: 0.858 (0.530–1.389); ST, crude: 0.820 (0.323–2.083) and adjusted for PS: 0.960 (0.357–2.587)]. Conclusions: The present study demonstrated that long‐tem cardiac outcomes including ST were not significantly different between SES and PES in patients with DM. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Systemic immunosuppressive therapy inhibits in-stent restenosis in patients with renal allograft.

BACKGROUND: Cyclosporine is used routinely for prophylaxis for renal allograft rejection. In experimental animal studies, cyclosporine had been shown to inhibit smooth muscle cell proliferation during the arterial response to injury. We investigated whether systemic immunosuppression may inhibit in-stent restenosis in renal transplant patients undergoing coronary stenting. METHODS: From 1993 to 2003, 33 renal transplant patients with 45 coronary lesions and 37 dialysis patients with 52 lesions underwent coronary stenting using bare metal stents at our center. We followed all patients clinically for a mean period of 37 +/- 31 months and 40 patients angiographically at 14 +/- 15 months after coronary intervention. Cyclosporine was combined with corticosteroids in 32 patients and one patient received tacrolimus instead of cyclosporine. RESULTS: The baseline clinical and angiographical characteristics were similar and the success rate of the procedure was 100% in both groups. In renal transplant group, the mean dose of cyclosporine was 192.5 +/- 68 mg/day and the blood cyclosporine level at the time of procedure was 152.9 +/- 51.5 ng/mL. The rate of in-stent restenosis was 7.1% in renal transplant group and 57.1% in dialysis group (P < 0.0001). The mean late loss was 0.47 +/- 0.57 mm in renal transplant group when compared with 1.51 +/- 1.09 mm in dialysis group (P = 0.004). The overall rate of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) was 6.1% in renal transplant group and 35.1% in dialysis group (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Renal transplant patients receiving combined immunosuppressive agents showed markedly low rates of in-stent restenosis and MACE after coronary revascularization with stent. We consider that this result may be related to the ability of combined immunosuppressive therapy to inhibit inflammatory reaction and vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation induced by coronary stenting.     

Prognostic Usefulness of Metabolic Syndrome Compared with Diabetes in Korean Patients with Critical Lower Limb Ischemia Treated with Percutaneous Transluminal Angioplasty

Purpose

Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a clinical condition that shares many common characteristics with diabetes. However, unlike diabetes, the usefulness of MS as a prognostic entity in peripheral arterial disease is uncertain. This study evaluated the prognostic usefulness of MS in critical lower limb ischemia (CLI) patients.

Materials and Methods

We compared the 2-year clinical outcomes in 101 consecutive CLI patients (66±14 years; 78% men) with 118 affected limbs treated with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) according to the presence of MS and diabetes.

Results

The number of MS patients was 53 (52%), of which 45 (85%) had diabetes. During a 2-year follow-up, the incidence of clinical outcomes, including reintervention, major amputation, minor amputation, and survival, was not significantly different between MS and non-MS patients; however, the incidence of minor amputation was significantly higher in diabetic than in non-diabetic patients (42% vs. 17%; p=0.011). Cox regression analysis for the 2-year primary patency demonstrated no association between MS and 2-year primary patency [hazard ratio (HR), 1.02; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.45-2.30; p=0.961], whereas there was a significant association between diabetes and 2-year primary patency (HR, 2.81; 95% CI, 1.02-7.72; p=0.046). Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed no significant difference in the 2-year primary patency between MS and non-MS patients; however, the 2-year primary patency was lower in diabetic than in non-diabetic patients (p=0.038).

Conclusion

As a prognostic concept, MS might conceal the adverse impact of diabetes on the prognosis of CLI patients treated with PTA.