Diagnostic performance of 320-slice computed tomography coronary angiography for symptomatic patients in clinical practice.

OBJECTIVE: Multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) coronary angiography has been reported as an effective alternative to invasive conventional coronary angiography (CCA) for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD). However, in previous reports, the diagnostic accuracy of MSCT has not been significant enough to be of benefit in symptomatic patients. The aim of this study was to identify the usefulness of 320-slice computed tomography coronary angiography (320-CTA) for symptomatic patients in terms of the diagnostic accuracy of 320-CTA and the prevalence of vasospastic angina pectoris (VSAP) within the study cohort. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 513 consecutive symptomatic patients with suspected CAD who had undergone 320-CTA and CCA. We determined the diagnostic accuracy of 320-CTA using CCA as the reference standard. Ergonovine provocation tests were performed on patients without significant coronary artery stenosis on CCA. RESULTS: Of the total cohort of 513 symptomatic patients, 39% had obstructive CAD. The patient based analysis of the accuracy of 320-CTA showed a sensitivity of 91.0%, a specificity of 71.0%, a positive predictive value of 66.5%, and a negative predictive value of 92.5%. Of the 314 symptomatic patients who did not have significant coronary artery stenosis on CCA, 58 (18%) were diagnosed with VSAP using ergonovine provocation tests. DISCUSSION: The negative and positive predictive values indicate that 320-CTA cannot replace CCA for symptomatic patients. Indeed, a combination of CCA and ergonovine provocation tests should be taken into consideration for symptomatic patients.

Frequent neurally mediated reflex syncope in a young patient with dextrocardia: Efficacy of catheter ablation of the superior vena cava-aorta ganglionated plexus.

Neurally mediated reflex syncope is the most common cause of syncope in young individuals without cardiac or neurological pathology. We report a case of successful catheter ablation in a 17-year-old male with neurally mediated syncope (NMS) of the cardioinhibitory type. The patient had dextrocardia situs inversus totalis with a mirror-image reversal of the thoracic and abdominal organs. Because he experienced multiple syncope episodes despite pharmacological intervention, we performed endocardial ablation of the superior vena cava-aorta ganglionated plexus. Shortly afterwards, his heart rate increased from 40 to 76 beats per minutes. He has not experienced syncope during the 1-year follow-up.

Co-existence of carotid artery disease, renal artery stenosis, and lower extremity peripheral arterial disease in patients with coronary artery disease.

In atherosclerosis, carotid artery stenosis (CAS), renal artery stenosis (RAS), lower extremity peripheral arterial disease (PAD), and coronary artery disease (CAD) are common pathologic lesions; their interrelationship is, however, unclear. We studied concomitant multiple atherosclerotic lesions in patients with CAD to understand their prevalence and relations. A cross-sectional analysis was performed on data from consecutive patients who underwent nonemergent coronary angiography. Simultaneous carotid and renal artery Doppler studies and ankle-brachial systolic pressure measurements were reviewed to diagnose concomitant lesions and their severity. The study included 1,734 patients (aged 71 ± 9 years; 70% men), with prevalences of CAS, RAS, lower extremity PAD, and CAD of 6%, 7%, 13%, and 72%, respectively. In patients with CAD (n = 1,253), the prevalences of CAS, RAS, and lower extremity PAD were 7%, 9%, and 16%, respectively; 24% CAD patients had ≥1 additional atherosclerotic lesion. Significant interactions among the prevalences of these lesions were found. In addition, the extent of CAD and the prevalences of CAS, RAS, and lower extremity PAD were significantly correlated. Multivariate analysis supported these relationships. In conclusion, the prevalences of CAS, RAS, lower extremity PAD, and CAD were strongly interrelated in the study population; CAD severity was related to that of other atherosclerotic lesions. Additional systematic screening of other concomitant atherosclerotic lesions is recommended, especially in CAD patients having multivessel disease, left main disease, and/or already diagnosed with other concomitant atherosclerotic lesions.

Risk of long-term dual antiplatelet therapy following drug-eluting stent implantation in octogenarians.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the risk of long-term dual antiplatelet therapy (DAT) following drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation in octogenarians. BACKGROUND: DES implantation requires DAT; however, DAT-associated risk in octogenarians remains unclear. METHODS: Two-hundred and six consecutive octogenarians (130 men, 83.3 ± 3.4 years) underwent stent implantation (104 bare metal stents [BMSs] and 102 DESs) and 38.0 ± 13.2 months of follow-up. RESULTS: Significantly more DES patients received DAT. The incidence of bleeding events was similar in the DES and BMS groups for 1 year (total: 10.8% vs 5.8%, P = 0.19; major: 4.9% vs 2.9%, P = 0.70). However, after 2 years, significantly more bleeding events occurred in the DES group than the BMS group (total: 2 years, 21.6% vs 9.6%, P = 0.02; 3 years, 29.4% vs 11.5%, P = 0.001; 4 years, 31.4% vs 15.4%, P = 0.007; major: 2 years, 12.7% vs 3.8%, P = 0.04; 3 years, 18.6% vs 5.8%, P = 0.005; 4 years, 19.6% vs 6.7%, P = 0.006). Overall, significantly more total bleeding events (31.4% vs 15.4%, P = 0.007) and major bleeding events (19.2% vs 6.7%, P = 0.006) were observed in the DES group than in the BMS group. The adjusted hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were as follows: total bleeding events, 2.203 (95% CI: 1.065-4.556; P = 0.033); major bleeding events, 4.324 (1.506-12.414; P = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: DAT was associated with an increased risk of bleeding events in octogenarians after 2 years. DAT discontinuation should be considered for octogenarians 1-year post-DES implantation.

In vitro and human studies of a 4F double-coaxial technique ("mother-child" configuration) to facilitate stent implantation in resistant coronary vessels.

BACKGROUND: We recently developed a 4F child catheter that can be inserted into 6F or larger conventional guiding catheters. The use of 4F mother-child technique may improve the delivery of coronary stents to complex lesions. Accordingly, we sought to determine the potential of using a 4F mother-child technique to treat complex coronary lesions. METHODS AND RESULTS: The support power and the trackability of the mother-child technique of 4-in-6 were evaluated using a coronary artery tree model. In addition, the results of 51 lesions treated by using a 4F child catheter were retrospectively analyzed. The in vitro experiment demonstrated that backup support of the 4-in-6 system was increased when the child catheter was advanced into the coronary tree ≥5 cm (P≤0.01); further, the 4F child catheter was associated with superior trackability as compared with a 5F child catheter (15.0 cm [15.0 to 15.0] versus 13.0 cm [12.8 to 13.0], P<0.005). A total of 51 lesions, in which conventional techniques had been unsuccessful, were treated using the 4F mother-child technique. Lesion success was achieved in 48 (94%) lesions. Stent deployment was attempted in 44 (86%) and was successful in 40 of 44 (91%). There were 2 instances of stent dislodgment. CONCLUSIONS: With the superior trackability of the 4F child catheter and with increased backup support of the mother-child system, the 4F mother-child system provided >90% success rate for lesions in which conventional techniques had failed. The 4F mother-child system may become a viable alternative to conventional techniques in treating complex coronary lesions.