Nigel Jepson

New Generation Coronary Stent Technology—Is the Future Biodegradable?

A new generation of drug eluting coronary stents are undergoing clinical trial evaluation and being introduced into clinical practice. These technologies comprise a broad range of innovations and include non-polymeric stents, biodegradable polymer coated stents and fully biodegradable scaffolds. The new devices are designed to improve long-term safety and efficacy and overcome limitations associated with a durable polymer and a persistent metallic stent scaffold. At the present time, none have demonstrated convincing superiority over current second generation drug eluting stents and large, long-term randomised controlled trials are required.

Disassembly of a rotablator: getting out of a trap.

The rotablator burr rarely becomes trapped within calcified lesions. Manual traction can be ineffective and dangerous. We report a case that illustrates a novel technique involving use of a percutaneous snare in conjunction with partial disassembly of the rotablator device to remove a trapped burr without need for open surgical intervention. Cathet Cardiovasc Intervent 2003;59:463–465.

Cardiologist Operated Ultrasound Guided Thrombin Injection as a Safe and Efficacious First Line Treatment for Iatrogenic Femoral Artery Pseudoaneurysms

OBJECTIVES To assess the efficacy and safety of ultrasound guided thrombin injection (UGTI) as a first line treatment for post arterial cannulation iatrogenic femoral artery pseudoaneurysms (IFAP). BACKGROUND IFAPs complicate up to 1% of diagnostic and 8% of interventional cardiac catheterisation procedures. UGTI remains a second line or non-attempted treatment after ultrasound guided manual compression (UGMC) and surgical repair in many centres. METHODS A retrospective review was undertaken of 121 consecutive patients who received UGTI as a first line treatment for IFAPs following cardiac diagnostic, interventional or catheter ablation procedures between 1999 and 2011 at our centre. The mean patient age was 70.7 years and 63% were male. At the time of injection, 89% were on at least one antiplatelet or anticoagulant. Pseudoaneurysms had a mean maximum dimension of 26.7mm (range 10-122mm) and 25% were multilobed. UGTI was performed by an interventional cardiologist with a mean bovine thrombin dose of 648 IU (range 50-5000 IU). RESULTS Primary success, defined as immediate IFAP thrombosis with UGTI, was achieved in 111 (92%) patients. Recurrence occurred in seven patients, three of whom required surgical repair. Multilobed IFAPs had significantly lower primary success rates than unilobed IFAPs (80% vs. 96%, p=0.016). Antiplatelet and anticoagulant use and IFAP size did not significantly affect outcomes. UGTI was not associated with any serious complications (such as thromboembolism, aneurysm rupture, venous thrombosis or abscess formation). CONCLUSION Interventional cardiologist operated UGTI should be considered as a first line therapy for uncomplicated IFAPs following interventional and diagnostic cardiac procedures. Despite high rates of concomitant antiplatelet and antithrombotic therapy, initial thrombosis rates exceeded 90% and we did not experience serious complications.

Pseudoxanthoma elasticum: is the left internal mammary artery a suitable conduit for coronary artery bypass grafting?

Coronary artery revascularization remains a feasible and beneficial treatment for coronary artery disease in patients with pseudoxanthoma elasticum. Careful angiographic evaluation of the left internal mammary artery and coronary arteries is required in patients with pseudoxanthoma elasticum with suspected coronary artery disease. A nonstenosed left internal mammary artery at angiography may be used as a conduit for coronary artery revascularization; however, both the effect of harvest and anastomosis on the disease process in the left internal mammary artery and the long-term patency of left internal mammary artery grafts remain unknown.

Everolimus-eluting Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold Implantation in Real World and Complex Coronary Disease: Procedural and 30-day Outcomes at Two Australian Centres

BACKGROUND The Absorb BVS is a new generation of coronary stent designed to provide coronary arteries with mechanical support of a temporary nature, following balloon angioplasty. Clinical trials of the device have shown promising results thus far, however concern surrounds the deliverability of the device in real-world and complex coronary disease, and the possible higher incidence of early scaffold thrombosis when compared to conventional metallic drug-eluting stents. METHODS Implantation of the Absorb BVS was attempted in 152 lesions in 100 patients at two Sydney teaching hospitals, as part of a prospective registry. Lesions treated reflected a wide spectrum of real-world disease. Young patient age, long lesion length and involvement of the mid-portion of the left anterior descending artery were the strongest factors likely to influence the decision to use the Absorb BVS over conventional metallic stents. There were no restrictions on the lesion length, or on the number of lesions or vessels treated. Type C lesions made up 37% of all lesions treated with 64% of these being long lesions (>20mm). The Absorb BVS was successfully implanted in 98.8% of cases. Post-dilatation was performed in 95% of scaffolds. Peri-procedural non-ST elevation myocardial infarction occurred in four cases. Scaffold thrombosis did not occur in any patient at 30 days follow-up. There was no death, or need for target lesion revascularisation in-hospital or at 30 days. CONCLUSIONS High rates of procedural success were achieved with minimal complications with use of the Absorb BVS in real-world coronary disease, including complex disease. These results suggest that the reduced deliverability of the device can be largely overcome by meticulous lesion preparation, and that early scaffold thrombosis may be minimised through scaffold post-dilatation.

Drug-eluting Balloon versus Second Generation Drug Eluting Stents in the Treatment of In-stent Restenosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND In-stent restenosis (ISR) remains a significant mode of stent failure following PCI. The optimal treatment strategy, however, remains undefined and the role of drug-eluting balloons (DEB) in the management of ISR is also unclear. METHODS A meta-analysis was performed to compare the efficacy of DEB in the treatment of ISR against second generation drug eluting stents (DES). RESULTS Seven studies comprised of 1,065 patients were included for analysis. The follow-up period ranged from 12-25 months. The use of DEB was associated with an inferior acute gain in minimal luminal diameter (MLD) (0.36, 95% CI: 0.16-0.57mm), higher late loss in MLD (0.11, 0.02-0.19mm) and a higher binary restenosis rate at follow-up (risk ratio: 2.24, 1.49-3.37). No significant differences were noted in the overall incidence of the analysed clinical parameters between the two groups. When only the randomised controlled trials (RCT) were considered however, there was a strong trend towards higher target lesion revascularisation (TLR; 9.9% vs. 3.6%; RR: 2.5, p=0.07) and a significantly higher major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) rate (15.7% vs. 8.8%; RR 1.78; p=0.02) with DEB. CONCLUSION While equipoise has been demonstrated in selected clinical outcomes between DEB and second generation DES in the treatment of ISR, the suboptimal angiographic outcome at follow-up and the higher TLR and MACE rates associated with DEB observed in the RCT are concerning. The results of the present analysis should be regarded as preliminary, although the generalised adoption of DEB in the treatment of ISR currently cannot be recommended.

Periprocedural myocardial infarction is associated with increased mortality in patients with coronary artery bifurcation lesions after implantation of a drug-eluting stent

The present study aimed to investigate the association between periprocedural myocardial infarction (PMI), defined by creatine kinase (CK)‐MB or troponin I (TNI) level elevations >5 times the 99th percentile of the upper reference limit (URL) within 48 hr after implantation of a drug‐eluting stent (DES), and one‐year mortality in patients with coronary bifurcation.

New bifurcation stenting technique: Shunt stenting

The optimal treatment of bifurcation lesions remains controversial. We describe a new technique we term shunt stenting. This technique incorporates both the new technology of drug‐eluting stents and a novel procedure for optimizing the ostial side branch stent positioning. To date, early angiographic and clinical follow‐up have been encouraging. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv 2004;63:474–481.

TCT-364 Radial vs Femoral Access for Coronary Angiography and Intervention in the Elderly (>75) - a Meta-analysis and Subgroup Analysis (All studies vs Octagenarian studies, N. America studies vs Rest of the World studies).

TCT-363 Patient Characteristics Influencing Physician Selection of Radial vs. Femoral Access in patients presenting emergently with STElevation Myocardial Infarction Jimmy Yee, James Higgins, Vishesh Kumar, Amornpol (Song) Anuwatworn, Shenjing Li, Alexander Pham, Julia Stys, Terezia Petraskova, Paul Thompson, Adam Stys, Marian Petrasko, Tomasz Stys University of South Dakota, Sanford School of Medicine, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States; Interventional Cardiology, Sandro Pertini Hospital; CSI; Sanford School of Medicine of University of South Dakota, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States; Sioux Falls; MedStar Washington Hospital Center; Dallas VA Medical Center and UT Southwestern; UCLA, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System; Dallas VA Medical Center and UT Southwestern; Sanford Cardiovascular Institute, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States; Sanford Cardiovascular Institute, Sioux falls, South Dakota, United States; Sanford Cardiovascular Institute, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States

Patent Foramen Ovale Influences the Presentation of Decompression Illness in SCUBA Divers

BACKGROUND Few have examined the influence of patent foramen ovale (PFO) on the phenotype of decompression illness (DCI) in affected divers. METHODOLOGY A retrospective review of our database was performed for 75 SCUBA divers over a 10-year period. RESULTS Overall 4,945 bubble studies were performed at our institution during the study period. Divers with DCI were more likely to have positive bubble studies than other indications (p<0.001). Major DCI was observed significantly more commonly in divers with PFO than those without (18/1,000 v.s. 3/1,000, p=0.02). Divers affected by DCI were also more likely to require a longer course of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) if PFO was present (p=0.038). If the patient experienced one or more major DCI symptoms, the odds ratio of PFO being present on a transoesophageal echocardiogram was 3.2 (p=0.02) compared to those who reported no major DCI symptoms. CONCLUSION PFO is highly prevalent in selected SCUBA divers with DCI, and is associated with a more severe DCI phenotype and longer duration of HBOT. Patients with unexpected DCI with one or more major DCI symptoms should be offered PFO screening if they choose to continue diving, as it may have considerable prognostic and therapeutic implications.