Dobutamine stress echocardiography for assessment of intracoronary stent implantation

Abstract

Stress echocardiography has been shown to be a valuable noninvasive method for the diagnosis of restenosis after coronary angioplasty. To determine the usefulness of dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) for assessment of restenosis after intracoronary stent implantation, we studied 50 patients (59+/-10 years; 1-vessel disease, n=16; multivessel disease, n=34) after stent implantation. After 6 month, both DSE (5-40 mcg/kg/min, 0-1mg atropine) and angiography were performed within 48 hours and evaluated in a blinded fashion. Restenosis was defined by quantitative coronary angiography as minimal lumen diameter (LD) <50% of average reference LD. Diagnostic criteria of DSE were new or worsening wall motion abnormalities in corresponding perfusion territories during stress. Angiography revealed restenosis in 8 patients; one patient had a denovostenosis distal to the stented segment (8 x left anterior descending artery, 1 ACVB to the right coronary artery). In 6 of these 9 patients, DSE was positive (mean reduction of LD 88+/-7%; sensitivity 67%), in 3 patients negative (mean reduction of LD 62+/-7%, 1 x termination of DSE because of wall motion abnormalities in an area not supplied by the stented vessel). In 38 of 41 patients without restenosis, DSE showed no stress-induced wall motion abnormalities in the LV area supplied by the stented vessel (specificity 93%). DSE is a useful noninvasive method for detecting restenosis after intracoronary stent implantation. With negative DSE at follow-up, a functionally relevant stent restenosis is highly unlikely.