Masafumi Ueno

Mini-STAR as bail-out strategy for percutaneous coronary intervention of chronic total occlusion.

Background: Although the advancement of the equipment and the presence of innovative techniques, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for chronic total occlusion (CTO) continues to be affected by lower procedural success in comparison with non occluded vessel PCI. Objective: We describe a new technique for the treatment of coronary CTO which utilizes a new generation of polymeric wires. Methods and Result: From March 2009 to June 2010 different strategies were adopted as “bail out” after an initial attempt failed in 117 consecutive CTO lesions. Among these, conventional strategies (CS) such as parallel wire, sub‐intimal tracking and re‐entry (STAR), microchannel technique, intracoronary ultrasound guided revascularization and anchor balloon, were used in 75 cases (64.1%), while in the remaining a new technique, the “mini‐STAR,” was used (39.9%). Although no substantial differences were observed regarding the distribution of clinical features and angiographic lesions characteristics between the populations, mini‐STAR was able to achieve a higher rate of procedural success in comparison with other CS (97.6% vs. 52%, P < 0.001) with lower contrast agent use (442 ± 259 cm3 vs. 561 ± 243 cm3, P = 0.01) and shorter procedural and fluoroscopy times (122 ± 61 vs. 157 ± 74 min, P = 0.009 and 60 ± 31 min vs. 75 ± 38 min, P = 0.03, respectively). No differences were observed in term of peri‐procedural complications such as procedural myocardial infarction, coronary perforations, and contrast‐induced nephropathy between mini‐STAR and CS. Conclusion: The mini‐STAR technique is a promising strategy for the treatment of CTO lesions, achieving a high procedural success rate and low occurrence of procedural adverse events.

Difference in statin effects on neointimal coverage after implantation of drug-eluting stents.

ObjectiveThis study was carried out to examine the difference in effects between rosuvastatin and pravastatin on neointimal formation after the placement of a drug-eluting stent (DES). Materials and methodsForty patients who underwent placement of a DES in our hospital were prospectively randomized to receive rosuvastatin (n=20) or pravastatin (n=20), and analyzed by optical coherence tomography at the chronic stage. The main outcome measure was comparison of neointimal coverage analyzed at a strut level. ResultsA significant reduction in total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, and white blood cell count was observed during the study in the rosuvastatin group (total cholesterol, from 4.82±0.90 to 4.43±0.77 mmol/l, P=0.038; low-density lipoprotein, from 2.85±0.76 to 2.34±0.57 mmol/l, P=0.006; white blood cell count, from 5810±1399 to 5355±1257/µl, P=0.048), but not in the pravastatin group. Although not statistically significant, C-reactive protein was lower in the rosuvastatin than in the pravastatin group at the chronic stage (1.14±1.21 vs. 7.67±13.67 mg/l, P=0.051). Malapposed and uncovered struts were significantly less frequent in the rosuvastatin group than in the pravastatin group (malapposed, 0.06 vs. 0.60%, P<0.001; uncovered, 6.49 vs. 11.29%, P<0.001). The difference in uncovered struts was maintained even when stent types were analyzed separately (everolimus-eluting stent, 4.81 vs. 6.21%, P=0.007; sirolimus-eluting stent, 14.40 vs. 20.86%, P<0.001). Comparison of neointimal thickness between the rosuvastatin and the pravastatin groups showed inconsistent results depending on the stent types analyzed. ConclusionCompared with pravastatin, the use of rosuvastatin resulted in lower frequency of uncovered and malapposed struts after the placement of a DES, which might be mediated through improved inflammatory and lipid profiles.

Clinical utility of low-pressure implantation of drug-eluting stent into very small vessels

BACKGROUND Although drug-eluting stents (DES) reduce restenosis, the best strategy for DES implantation in small vessels has not been established. PURPOSE We investigated the clinical usefulness of low-pressure implantation of a 2.5-mm DES for small vessels less than 2.5mm in diameter. METHODS In 118 patients, a 2.5-mm DES was implanted for small vessels less than 2.5mm in diameter between 2007 and 2009 in our hospital. The patients were divided into two groups by initial deployment pressure: low-pressure (LP; n=46) and nominal-pressure (NP; n=72). RESULTS Patients with impaired glucose tolerance were more frequent (p=0.02) and the target vessel diameter was significantly smaller (p=0.01) in the LP group than in the NP group. A smaller minimum lumen diameter (MLD) was obtained (LP: 2.22±0.27mm vs. NP: 2.34±0.26mm, p=0.02) after DES implantation with a smaller balloon-to-artery ratio (p=0.03) in the LP group. However, at mid-term follow-up (7.7±3.9 months), MLD (p=0.55) and the binary restenosis rate (LP: 2.6% vs. NP: 11.1%, p=0.12) were not significantly different between the LP and NP groups. Furthermore, by Kaplan-Meier analysis, the incidence of major adverse cardiac events was not different between the groups during the long-term follow-up (32.4±8.6 months). CONCLUSION The present study indicates that low-pressure implantation of 2.5-mm DES for very small vessels may be feasible with regard to short- and long-term clinical outcomes.

Backyards of Chronic Total Occlusion Scenery Revealed Through Angioscope

Chronic total occlusion (CTO) remains a challenging lesion subset in percutaneous coronary intervention and endovascular treatment because of low initial procedural success rates and high rates of restenosis at the chronic stage. There are only a few reports of human pathologic specimens of CTO in the literature.1 Angioscopy has been reported to be useful for the direct visualization of thrombus and allows for characterization of the vessel wall from inside,2 but we cannot observe the distal side of CTO in coronary arteries. Here we report an evaluation of the distal side of CTO of the superficial femoral artery (SFA) via a retrograde approach with angioscopy. ### Case 1 A 71-year–old man with hypertension, dyslipidemia, and type 2 diabetes mellitus noticed intermittent claudication in both legs in 2003. He received endovascular treatment of the left iliac artery in 2003 and that of the right iliac artery in 2008. The symptom, however, recurred in 2010, and medical treatment failed to improve it. He received another endovascular treatment for the right SFA. Control angiography revealed a short total occlusion in the right SFA (Figure 1A and Movies I and II in the …

Acute Coronary Syndrome vs. Stable Angina Pectoris: Angioscopic Point of View

Coronary artery disease (CAD) has two broad categories of clinical syndromes such as acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and stable angina pectoris (SAP). ACS is well recognized to be a significant contributor to both morbidity and mortality in worldwide, and it is pivotal to understand the mechanisms of ACS in order to predict the occurrence of ACS using a combination of novel imaging modalities and noninvasive biomarkers. Currently, several imaging modalities are investigated to detect vulnerable plaques. In particular, coronary angioscopy can evaluate the luminal surface by direct visualization and plays an important role to elucidate morphological interaction between the plaque and thrombus. In this review, we will focus on the differences in angioscopic findings of plaque morphology, such as plaque color and presence of thrombus in patients with ACS and those with SAP.