Treatment Of Diffuse Coronary Disease Research Articles

Comparison of Clinical Outcomes Between Very Long Stents and Overlapping Stents for the Treatment of Diffuse Coronary Disease in Real Clinical Practice

The stent length as well as the stent overlap for the percutaneous treatment of diffuse coronary disease have been considered predictors of adverse events. However, there are no comparative data on the use of very long stents or overlapping stents in this scenario. To compare the clinical results of very long stents (≥40 mm) or overlapping stents in real clinical practice. We included 643 lesions in 628 consecutive patients treated with a single very long stent (≥40 mm) (251 lesions) or ≥2 overlapped stents (392 lesions). We analyzed the procedural characteristics and the presentation of the combined endpoint [cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, need for target lesion revascularization or stent thrombosis] after a follow-up of 20 months. Total stent length was 54 ± 18 mm and minimum diameter was 2.9 ± 1.2 mm. At the end of follow-up, the rate of adverse events was 8.3% (cardiac death: 4.9%, myocardial infarction: 1.7%, target lesion revascularization: 3.1%, stent thrombosis: 0.7%). There were no significant differences between both groups in the presentation of the combined endpoint. Procedures with overlapping stents had more contrast volume (309 ± 115 vs 273 ± 127 ml; p = 0.002), longer duration (47 ± 22 vs 39 ± 18 min; p < 0.0001), higher fluoroscopy time (20 ± 13 vs 16 ± 9 min; p < 0.0001) and higher number of stents to treat the index lesion (2.2 ± 0.5 vs 1; p < 0.0001). New designs of very long stents allow not only treating increasingly complex lesions, but also simplifying the procedure and decreasing the number of stents with very favorable results similar to those obtained with stent overlap.

TCT-255 Results of the percutaneous coronary intervention with overlapping stents with homogeneous or heterogeneous drug for the treatment of diffuse coronary disease in real clinical practice.

TCT-255 Results of the percutaneous coronary intervention with overlapping stents with homogeneous or heterogeneous drug for the treatment of diffuse coronary disease in real clinical practice.

Results of Adjunctive Coronary Endarterectomy in 548 Patients

Coronary endarterectomy is a controversial procedure that plays a particular role in the treatment of coronary artery disease. We retrospectively investigated the results for 548 patients who underwent coronary endarterectomy as an adjunctive therapy for coronary artery bypass graft surgery during the period between 1996 and 2004. We assessed short-term outcomes and identified risk factors for adverse outcomes. Mean patient age was 67.9 + 9.3 years and mean angina class was 2.7 + 0.3. The mean number of distal anastomoses was 3.8 + 1.1 patients (73.4%) had single and 151 (27.6%) multiple coronary artery endarterectomies. Of the 151 patients who underwent multiple endarterectomies, 97 (17.7%) had endarterectomies in 2 coronary arteries, 40 (7.2%) in 3 coronary arteries, 11 (2%) in 4 coronary arteries, 2 (0.36%) in 5 coronary arteries, and 1 (0.18%) in 6 coronary arteries. Postoperative mortality was 6.2% (34 patients). The predictors for early mortality were recent myocardial infarction and left ventricular dysfunction. Our results suggest that adjunctive coronary endarterectomy can be accomplished with acceptable results but with higher mortality rates than ordinary coronary artery bypass grafting. Adjunctive coronary endarterectomy should be considered as a last option for the surgical treatment of diffuse coronary disease.

Long-term outcome of patients with very long stents for treatment of diffuse coronary disease

Objectives The study sought to determine the 6-month clinical outcome of patients who underwent implantation of very long coronary stents to treat diffuse disease and/or long dissections and to compare the findings with those reported in the literature for patients who underwent implantation of multiple short coronary stents. Background New designs of flexible stents enable the implantation of long stents rather than multiple short, older design stents. The initial experience is very promising but the long-term outcome has not been described yet. Methods Fifty-seven consecutive patients in whom 67 long stents (≥30 mm) were successfully deployed were included in this study. Six-month clinical and angiographic follow-up was prospectively collected. Patients with recurrent angina underwent coronary angiography without further testing. Patients who remained asymptomatic at the 6-month follow-up visit underwent positron emission tomographic imaging, and those with results suggestive of ischemia underwent coronary angiography. A combined study end point was defined as death, myocardial infarction, and the need for target vessel revascularization. Results Only 1 patient (2%) reached a study end point at hospital discharge. An additional 20 patients (total 21 patients [37%]) reached an end point by 6 months. The outcome was not influenced by the clinical presentation (stable or unstable angina) or by the indication for stenting (elective or emergency). Predictors for adverse outcome were multiple stents per narrowing (63% vs 29%, P < .04), and stents smaller than 3.5 mm (49% vs 22%). Narrowing and stent length were not predictive of a study end point in narrowings that were successfully treated by a single long stent. Conclusions Elective stenting provides an effective solution for patients with diffuse coronary disease provided that a single long stent (usually <40 mm) can cover the full length of the narrowing. The results are better when vessels larger than 3 mm are treated. Compared with multiple short stents, implantation of a single long stent is probably at least as effective, and the procedure is quicker and cheaper and thus should be the preferred approach. (Am Heart J 1999;138:441-5.)