Editorial comment--with or without protection? The second important question in carotid artery stenting.

Abstract

This is already the second editorial comment within the last 6 months about protection devices in carotid artery stenting.1 Obviously, this seems to be an important question. In the August issue of Stroke , Cremonesi and co-workers reported about their experience with these protection devices and suggested that the use is feasible and effective, but not without complications.2 And now, in this issue, the EVA-3S Trial committee reports the comparison of protected and unprotected stenting procedures.3 Due to the better results when using protection devices, the safety committee recommended stopping unprotected stenting within the study. From a scientific point of view, this recommendation was not absolutely necessary. A substantial number of patients treated without …