Impact of post-dilation on the acute and one-year clinical outcomes of a large cohort of patients treated solely with the Absorb Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold.

AIMS: We sought to determine the impact of post-dilation (PD) on clinical outcomes in a large cohort of patients treated only with the Absorb Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold (BVS). METHODS AND RESULTS: We evaluated all consecutive patients enrolled in the multicentre, single-arm ABSORB EXTEND study up to June 2013. The study allowed treatment of up to two coronaries (diameter 2.0 to 3.8 mm) and the use of overlapping (lesion length ≤28 mm). Patients with severe lesion calcification/tortuosity were excluded. Aggressive lesion predilation (balloon to artery ratio of 0.9-1.0) was mandatory, and PD was left to the operator's discretion. Patients were grouped according to whether PD was performed or not, and the one-year incidences of MACE and scaffold thrombosis were compared. A total of 768 patients were enrolled in the study; PD was performed in 526 (68.4%). There were no significant differences between the PD group and non-PD group in the majority of baseline characteristics, including the presence of moderate calcification and of B2/C lesions. Lesion length was similar (12.3±5.1 mm vs. 12.1±5.3 mm, p=0.6), as was RVD (2.6 mm for both groups, p=0.2). Residual in-scaffold stenosis (15.5±6.4% with PD, 15.0±6% without PD, p=0.3) and the need for bail-out scaffold/stent (4.2% with PD, 4.6% without PD, p=0.8) were comparable. Acute gain was higher in the non-PD group (1.14±0.3 mm vs. 1.21±0.4 mm, p=0.02). Clinical device success was 98.9% in both groups. At one year, there was no difference in MACE (5.4% in the PD group vs. 2.5% in the non-PD group, p=0.1). All individual components of TLR, death, and MI were similar as well as definite/probable scaffold thrombosis between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: These results reflect very similar final angiographic and clinical results achieved with or without post-dilation in the treatment of low to moderately complex coronary lesions. Therefore, post-dilation should be performed whenever needed to optimise acute results.

Síndrome coronária aguda sem supradesnível de ST de alto risco: a mortalidade intra-hospitalar é proporcionl ao retardo para a intervenção / High risk unstable coronary syndrome: in-hospital mortality is increased with delayed intervention

Fundamentos: Estudos recentes mostram que uma abordagem invasiva rotineira para pacientes com síndrome coronária aguda sem supradesnivelamento do segmento ST diminui eventos em relação a uma abordagem conservadora, mas o tempo ideal para esta abordagem ainda é motivo de debate. Método: No período de maio/2003 a novembro/ 2005, 466 pacientes com infarto agudo do miocárdio, sem supradesnível do segmento ST, foram submetidos à intervenção coronária percutânea, em nossa instituição. Excluímos aqueles pacientes com instabilidade hemodinâmica à admissão. Os pacientes foram divididos em dois grupos, de acordo com o tempo entre a admissão e a realização da angioplastia: 1) Grupo Precoce (intervenção ≤ 6 horas) com 152 pacientes e 2) Grupo Tardio (intervenção >6 horas) com 314 pacientes. Foram analisados os dados do procedimento e a mortalidade intra-hospitalar. Resultados: Os dois grupos foram semelhantes quanto às suas características clínicas, exceto pela maior freqüência de cirurgia coronária prévia no Grupo Tardio. Pacientes no Grupo Precoce foram tratados com uma mediana de 3 horas (intervalo interquartil 2-4 horas) e, no Grupo Tardio, após 23 horas (intervalo interquartil 14-48 horas). Pacientes tratados precocemente apresentaram mortalidade intrahospitalar significativamente menor que os pacientes do Grupo Tardio (0,7 vs. 4,8%; p=0,02). À análise multivariada, idade, insuficiência cardíaca e tempo de tratamento foram identificados como preditores independentes de óbito hospitalar. Conclusão: A realização de angioplastia precoce parece reduzir o risco óbito intra-hospitalar em pacientes com infarto agudo do miocárdio sem supradesnível do segmento ST tratados no dia-a-dia. O impacto clínico da implementação de protocolos de tratamento acelerado para estes pacientes deve ser avaliado no ambiente de estudos randomizados.

Background: Several studies have shown that routine invasive strategies reduce major events compared to a conservative strategy for patients with acute coronary syndrome without ST elevation. However, the optimal time to institute this approach is still debatable. Methods: From May 2003 to November 2005, 466 patients with myocardial infarction without ST elevation, excluding patients with hemodynamic instability, were treated by percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) in our hospital. Patients were divided in 2 groups according to time from admission to PCI: 1) Early Group (≤6 h) involving 152 patients and 2) Late Group (>6 h) including 314 patients. Procedure data and in-hospital mortality were analyzed. Results: Baseline clinical characteristics were similar in both groups, except for prior CABG that was more frequent in late group. Median time from admission to PCI was 3 hours (interquartile interval: 2-4hours) in the Early Group and 23 hours (interquartile interval: 14-48hours) in the Late Group. In-hospital mortality was significantly reduced in the Early Group (0.7 vs. 4.8%; p=0.02). Age, heart failure and time from admission to PCI were independent predictors of in-hospital mortality by multivariate analysis. Conclusion: Early PCI for myocardial infarction without ST elevation seems to reduce the inhospital mortality in the daily practice. The clinical impac of this accelerated invasive strategy needs to be evaluated in randomized trials.

Selective contrast echocardiography in percutaneous transluminal septal myocardial ablation in an elderly patient with left ventricular concentric hypertrophy.

We report an elderly patient, with hypertension and left ventricular concentric hypertrophy with sigmoid shape of the septum, who presented an unsatisfactory response to medical treatment and who was successfully submitted to myocardial contrast echocardiography-guided percutaneous transluminal septal myocardial ablation.