Quantitative plaque characterisation and association with acute coronary syndrome on medium to long term follow up: insights from computed tomography coronary angiography.

Background: Computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) is an established imaging modality widely used for diagnosing coronary artery stenosis with expanding potential for comprehensive assessment of coronary artery disease (CAD). Lesion-based analyses of high-risk plaques (HRP) on CTCA may aid further in prognostication presenting with stable chest pain. We conduct qualitative and quantitative assessments to identify HRPs that are associated with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) on a medium to long term follow-up. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent CTCA for suspected CAD. Obstructive stenosis (OS) is defined as ≥50% and the presence of HRP and its constituents: positive-remodelling (PR), low-attenuation-plaque (LAP; <56 HU), very-low-attenuation-plaque (vLAP; <30 HU) and spotty-calcification (SC) were recorded. A cross-sectional quantitative analysis of HRP was performed at the site of minimum-luminal-area (MLA). The primary endpoint was fatal or non-fatal ACS on follow-up. Results: A total of 1,257 patients were included (mean age 61±14 years old and 51% male) with a median follow-up of 7.24 years (interquartile range 5.5 to 7.7 years). The occurrence of ACS was significantly higher in HRP (+) patients compared to HRP (-) patients and patients with no plaques (20.5% vs. 1.6% vs. 0.4%, log-rank test P<0.001). ACS was more frequent in HRP (+)/OS (+) patients (20.7%) compared to HRP (+)/OS (-) patients (8.6%), HRP (-)/OS (+) patients (1.8%) and HRP (-)/OS (-) patients (1.0%). OS, cross-sectional plaque area (PA) and the presence of vLAP identified those HRP lesions that were more likely to cause future ACS. Cross-sectional LAP area (<56 HU) in HRP lesions added incremental prognostic value to OS in predicting ACS (P=0.008). Conclusions: The presence of OS and the LAP area at the site of MLA identify the HRP lesions that have the greatest association with development of future ACS.

Polymer-free versus permanent polymer-coated drug eluting stents for the treatment of coronary artery disease: A meta-analysis of randomized trials.

BACKGROUND: Polymer-free drug eluting stents (PF-DES) were developed, in part, to overcome risk of late ischemic events observed with permanent polymer-coated DES (PP-DES). However, trial results are inconsistent with longer-term safety and efficacy of PF-DES remaining unknown. We performed a meta-analysis of randomized trials assessing outcomes of patients receiving PF-DES versus PP-DES for treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS: Electronic searches were performed for randomized trials comparing outcomes between PF-DES and PP-DES. Trials reporting major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), myocardial infarction (MI), stent thrombosis (ST), all-cause death, target lesion/vessel revascularization (TLR/TVR), and late lumen loss (LLL) were included. Analyses were performed at longest follow-up and landmarked beyond 1-year. RESULTS: Twelve trials (6,943 patients) were included. There was no significant difference in MACE between PF-DES and PP-DES at longest follow-up (Odds Ratio [OR] 0.96, 95%CI 0.85-1.10, P = 0.59) or landmark analysis beyond 1-year (OR 0.96, 95%CI 0.76-1.20, P = 0.70). Although PF-DES were associated with a significant reduction in all-cause death (OR 0.85, 95%CI 0.72-1.00, P < 0.05), this effect was not present on landmark analysis beyond 1-year (OR 0.89, 95%CI 0.73-1.10, P = 0.30). There were no differences observed for MI (OR 1.00, 95%CI 0.77-1.28, P = 0.99) or ST (OR 0.95, 95%CI 0.54-1.68, P = 0.86), with similar efficacy outcomes including TVR (OR 1.07, 95%CI 0.91-1.26, P = 0.42), TLR (OR 1.03, 95%CI 0.88-1.21, P = 0.68) and angiographic LLL (pooled mean difference 0.01 mm, 95%CI -0.08 to 0.11, P = 0.76). CONCLUSIONS: PF-DES are as safe and efficacious as PP-DES for the treatment of patients with CAD, but do not significantly reduce late ischemic complications.

Old but not forgotten: Antibiotic allergies in General Medicine (the AGM Study).

OBJECTIVES: To determine the nature, prevalence and description accuracy of recorded antibiotic allergy labels (AALs) in a cohort of general medical inpatients, and to assess the feasibility of an oral antibiotic re-challenge study. DESIGN: Multicentre cross-sectional study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: All patients admitted to the general medical units of Austin Health and Alfred Health, 18 May - 5 June 2015. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Baseline demographics, medical and allergy history, infection diagnoses and antibiotic prescribing data for general medical inpatients were collected. A questionnaire was administered to clarify AAL history, followed by correlation of responses with electronic and admissions record descriptions. A hypothetical oral re-challenge in a supervised setting was offered to patients with low risk allergy phenotypes (non-immediate reaction, non-severe cutaneous adverse reaction, or unknown reaction more than 10 years ago). RESULTS: Of the 453 inpatients, 107 (24%) had an AAL (median age, 82 years; interquartile range, 74-87 years); 160 individual AALs were recorded, and there was a mismatch in AAL description between recording platforms in 25% of cases. Most patients with an AAL were women (64%; P < 0.001), and more presented with concurrent immunosuppression than those without an AAL (23% v 8%; P < 0.001). ß-Lactam penicillins were employed less frequently in patients with an AAL (16% v 35%; P = 0.02), while ceftriaxone (32% v 20%; P = 0.02) and fluoroquinolones (6% v 2%; P = 0.04) were used more often. Fifty-four per cent of patients with AALs were willing to undergo oral re-challenge, of whom 48% had a low risk allergy phenotype. CONCLUSIONS: AAL prevalence in general medical inpatients was 24%, and was associated with excessive use of broad spectrum antibiotics. Allergies in a large proportion of patients with AALs were incorrectly documented, and were non-immune-mediated and potentially amenable to oral re-challenge. A direct oral re-challenge study in carefully selected patients with low risk allergy phenotypes appears feasible.