Superficial femoral artery pseudoaneurysm at implantation site of drug eluting stent discovered due to bacteremia:A case report

BACKGROUND Drug-eluting stents(DES)are used to treat lower extremity arterial disease.During DES treatment,aneurysmal degeneration occasionally occurs,especially with fluoropolymer-based DES.However,the incidence of pseudoaneurysms after DES placement is rarely reported in the lower extremity region,although there have been several reports on pseudoaneurysm formation after DES placement in the coronary artery region.CASE SUMMARY We report the case of a 64-year-old man who presented with fever and pain in his left hand after dialysis.Bacteremia was diagnosed by blood culture,and after admission,he developed pain on the medial side of the right thigh.A pseudoaneurysm was observed in the right superficial femoral artery(SFA)at the proximal end of a previously placed DES.The bacteremia was thought to have been caused by a pseudoaneurysm of the left superficial brachial artery,and the pseudoaneurysm of the left superficial brachial artery was removed after antibiotic treatment.The pseudoaneurysm of the right SFA rapidly expanded after admission,but the expansion rate was reduced after infection control.Seven months after the first admission,the pseudoaneurysm of the left SFA was re-moved and in situ revascularization performed using a rifampicin-soaked Dacron graft.CONCLUSION Although pseudoaneurysm after DES placement in the lower extremity region is rare,it must be considered in patients with bacteremia.

The Efficacy and Safety of Drug-Coated Balloons in the Treatment of Acute Myocardial Infarction

The incidence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is increasing year by year, which seriously endangers human health around the world. The preferred treatment strategy for AMI patients is the use of drug-eluting stents (DES), as there is ample evidence to suggest that stent implantation can reduce major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs). With the application of drug-coated balloons (DCBs) and the enhancement of the concept of interventional without implantation, the question is whether DCBs can be safely and effectively used in patients with AMI? The purpose of this study was to investigate the safety and effectiveness of DCBs in the treatment of AMI. A retrospective review of clinical data was conducted on 55 AMI patients who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) from January 2020 to December 2021. Of these patients, 25 were treated with DCBs and 30 were treated with DESs. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was used to measure the minimum lumen diameter, lumen stenosis, and coronary artery dissection before and after surgery, and angina pectoris attacks and various MACEs were recorded at 1, 6, and 12 months after surgery. The results showed that there were no significant differences in clinical baseline data between the two groups. However, the minimum lumen diameter of the DCB group immediately after the operation was smaller than that of the DES group, and the stenosis degree of the lumen in the DCB group was higher than that in the DES group. The incidence of coronary artery dissection in the DCB group was significantly higher than that in the DES group, but the majority of them were type B. At 1, 6, and 12 months after treatment, there was no significant difference in the occurrence of MACEs between the two groups. In conclusion, DCBs is a safe and effective treatment for AMI. However, the incidence of coronary artery dissection in DCB patients is higher than that in DES patients, but the majority of them are type B. .

Advantages and disadvantages of biodegradable platforms in drug eluting stents

Coronary angioplasty with drug-eluting stent(DES)implantation is currently the most common stent procedure worldwide.Since the introduction of DES,coronary restenosis as well as the incidence of target vessel and target lesion revascularization have been significantly reduced.However,the incidence of very late stent thrombosis beyond the first year after stent deployment has more commonly been linked to DES than to baremetal stent(BMS)implantation.Several factors have been associated with very late stent thrombosis after DES implantation,such as delayed healing,inflammation,stent mal-apposition and endothelial dysfunction. Some of these adverse events were associated with the presence of durable polymers,which were essential to allow the elution of the immunosuppressive drug in the first DES designs.The introduction of erodable polymers in DES technology has provided the potential to complete the degradation of the polymer simultaneously or immediately after the release of the immunosuppressive drug,after which a BMS remains in place.Several DES designs with biodegradable(BIO)polymers have been introduced in preclinical and clinical studies, including randomized trials.In this review,we analyze the clinical results from 6 observational and randomized studies with BIO polymers and discuss advantages and disadvantages of this new technology.

Drug-eluting fully covered self-expanding metal stent for dissolution of bile duct stones in vitro

BACKGROUND The treatment of difficult common bile duct stones(CBDS)remains a big challenge around the world.Biliary stenting is a widely accepted rescue method in patients with failed stone extraction under endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.Fully covered self-expanding metal stent(FCSEMS)has gained increasing attention in the management of difficult CBDS.AIM To manufacture a drug-eluting FCSEMS,which can achieve controlled release of stone-dissolving agents and speed up the dissolution of CBDS.METHODS Customized covered nitinol stents were adopted.Sodium cholate(SC)and disodium ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid(EDTA disodium,EDTA for short)were used as stone-dissolving agents.Three different types of drug-eluting stents were manufactured by dip coating(Stent I),coaxial electrospinning(Stent II),and dip coating combined with electrospinning(Stent III),respectively.The drugrelease behavior and stone-dissolving efficacy of these stents were evaluated in vitro to sort out the best manufacturing method.And the selected stonedissolving stents were further put into porcine CBD to evaluate their biosecurity.RESULTS Stent I and Stent II had obvious burst release of drugs in the first 5 d while Stent III presented controlled and sustainable drug release for 30 d.In still buffer,the final stone mass-loss rate of each group was 5.19%±0.69%for naked FCSEMS,20.37%±2.13%for Stent I,24.57%±1.45%for Stent II,and 33.72%±0.67%for Stent III.In flowing bile,the final stone mass-loss rate of each group was 5.87%±0.25%for naked FCSEMS,6.36%±0.48%for Stent I,6.38%±0.37%for Stent II,and 8.15%±0.27%for Stent III.Stent III caused the most stone mass-loss no matter in still buffer or in flowing bile,which was significantly higher than those of other groups(P<0.05).In vivo,Stent III made no difference from naked FCSEMS in serological analysis(P>0.05)and histopathological examination(P>0.05).CONCLUSION The novel SC and EDTA-eluting FCSEMS is efficient in diminishing CBDS in vitro.When conventional endoscopic techniques fail to remove difficult CBDS,SC and EDTA-eluting FCSEMS implantation may be considered a promising alternative.

Therapeutic effect of rotational atherectomy with implantation of drug eluting stent in heavily coronary calcified patients

Background Rotational atherectomy （RA） could facilitate the percutaneous coronary intervention （PCI） in heavily coronary calcified patients. The effectiveness and safety of this technique needs to be further evaluated. Methods ＆ Results Eighty patients who underwent RA in our center from September 2011 to June 2014 were enrolled. The mean age was 72.4 ± 10.4 years. The left ventricular ejection frac- tion （LVEF） was average 52.3% ± 8.48% and the estimated glomerular filtration rate was 73.2 ± 3.20 mL/min per 1.73 m2. The coronary lesions were complex, with Syntax score 29.5 ± 9.86. The diameter of reference vessel was 3.4 ± 0.45 mm and the average diameter stenosis of target vessels was 80% ~ 10%. All the patients were deployed with drug eluting stents （DES） successfully aiter RA. The patients were followed up for 12-18 months. Kaplan-Meier plots estimated the survival rate was 93.4% and the cumulative incidence of major adverse cardiac and cerebral events （MACCE） was 25.4%. Bleeding and procedural-related complications were quite low. COX proportional hazards model for multivariate analysis demonstrated that diabetes, LVEF and maximum pressure of postdilatation were the predictors of MACCE. Conclusions RA followed by implantation of DES was effective and safe for heavily coronary calcified patients. Diabetes, LVEF and maximum pressure ofpostdilatation were predictive for MACCE.

Drug-eluting balloons versus new generation drug-eluting stents for the management of in-stent restenosis: an updated meta-analysis of randomized studies

Background New-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) was more effective in the treatment of in-stent restenosis (ISR) compared with the first-generation DES. Drug-eluting balloons (DEB) and new-generation DES had been available strategies in treatment of bare-metal stents/DES ISR (BMS/DES-ISR). Six new randomized trials have recently examined the angiographic outcomes and one-year clinical outcomes of DEB and new generation DES in BMS/DES-ISR. However, the optimal management for BMS/DES-ISR lesions remains controversial. Methods We searched the randomized clinical trials evaluating the angiographic outcomes and one-year clinical outcomes of DEB and new-generation DES in patients with BMS/DES-ISR. The primary endpoints were the angiographic outcomes, including the minimal luminal diameter (MLD), diameter stenosis %(DS%), late lumen loss (LLL), and binary restenosis (BR). Results A total of six randomized clinical trials with 1177 BMS/DES-ISR patients were included in our meta-analysis. For angiographic outcomes, there were significantly less MLD and more DS% with DEB compared to new-generation DES (MLD: MD =?0.18, 95% CI:?0.31– ?0.04, P < 0.001;DS%: MD = 5.68, 95% CI: 1.00–10.37, P < 0.001). Moreover, for one-year clinical outcomes, DEB was associated with a significant increase risk in target lesion revascularization (TLR)(RR = 2.93, 95% CI: 1.50–5.72, P = 0.002). However, DEB was associated with higher risks of major adverse cardiac event, target vessel revascularization, TLR, BR, and more DS% only in DES-ISR group. Conclusions DEB and new-generation DES have the similar clinical efficacy for the treatment of BMS-ISR. However, DES showed more MLD, less DS%, and a decreased risk of TLR for the treatment of DES-ISR.

Five-year clinical outcomes of first-generation versus second-generation drug-eluting stents following coronary chronic total occlusion intervention

Background There are limited data comparing long-term clinical outcomes between first-generation (1G) and second-generation (2G) drug-eluting stents (DESs) in patients who underwent successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for coronary chronic total occlusion (CTO) lesion. Methods A total of 840 consecutive patients who underwent PCI with DESs for CTO lesion from January 2004 to November 2015 were enrolled. Finally, a total of 324 eligible CTO patients received 1G-DES (Paclitaxel-eluting stent or Sirolimus-eluting stent, n = 157) or 2G-DES (Zotarolimus-eluting stent or Everolimus-eluting stent, n = 167) were enrolled. The clinical endpoint was the occurrence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) defined as all-cause death, recurrent myocardial infarction (re-MI), total repeat revascularization [target lesion revascularization (TLR), target vessel revascularization (TVR), and non-TVR]. We investigated the 5-year major clinical outcomes between 1G-DES and 2G-DES in patient who underwent successful CTO PCI. Results After propensity score matched (PSM) analysis, two well-balanced groups (111 pairs, n = 222, C-statistic = 0.718) were generated. Up to the 5-year follow-up period, the cumulative incidence of all-cause death, re-MI, TLR, TVR and non-TVR were not significantly different between the two groups. Finally, MACE was also similar between the two groups (HR = 1.557, 95% CI: 0.820–2.959, P = 0.176) after PSM. Conclusions In this study, 2G-DES was not associated with reduced long-term MACE compared with 1G-DES following successful CTO revascularization up to five years.

Duration of dual antiplatelet treatment in the era of next generation drug-eluting stents

Current percutaneous coronary intervention guidelines recommend dual antiplatelets(aspirin 100 mg + clopidogrel 75 mg daily) for at least 12 mo following drugeluting stent(DES) implantation if patients are not at high risk of bleeding.Several reports have tried to shorten the dual antiplatelet therapy to 3-6 mo,especially following next-generation DES implantation,for cost-effectiveness.However,the clinical results are inconsistent and the data regarding next-generation DESs limited.In this report,recently published important pivotal reports regarding the optimal duration of dual antiplatelets following DES implantation are summarized.

Biodegradable polymer stents vs second generation drug eluting stents:A meta-analysis and systematic review of randomized controlled trials

AIM: To evaluate the premise, that biodegradable polymer drug eluting stents(BD-DES) could improve clinical outcomes compared to second generation permanent polymer drug eluting stents(PP-DES), we pooled the data from all the available randomized control trials(RCT) comparing the clinical performance of both these stents.METHODS: A systematic literature search of Pub Med, Cochrane, Google scholar databases, EMBASE, MEDLINE and SCOPUS was performed during time period of January 2001 to April 2015 for RCT and comparing safety and efficacy of BD-DES vs second generation PP-DES. The primary outcomes of interest were definite stent thrombosis, target lesion revascularization, myocardial infarction, cardiac deaths and total deaths during the study period. RESULTS: A total of 11 RCT's with a total of 12644 patients were included in the meta-analysis, with 6598 patients in BD-DES vs 6046 patients in second generation PP-DES. The mean follow up period was 16 mo. Pooled analysis showed non-inferiority of BD-DES, comparing events of stent thrombosis(OR = 1.42, 95%CI: 0.79-2.52, P = 0.24), target lesion revascularization(OR = 0.99, 95%CI: 0.84-1.17, P = 0.92), myocardial infarction(OR = 1.06, 95%CI: 0.86-1.29, P = 0.92), cardiac deaths(OR = 1.07, 95%CI 0.82-1.41, P = 0.94) and total deaths(OR = 0.96, 95%CI: 0.80-1.17, P = 0.71).CONCLUSION: BD-DES, when compared to second generation PP-DES, showed no significant advantage and the outcomes were comparable between both the groups.

Intracoronary brachytherapy for the treatment of recurrent drugeluting stent in-stent restenosis:A systematic review and metaanalysis

BACKGROUND We performed a meta-analysis on observational studies since randomized control trials are not available.We studied intracoronary brachytherapy(ICBT)and recurrent drug eluting stent in-stent restenosis(DES-ISR)to evaluate the procedural success,target lesion revascularization(TLR),incidence of myocardial infarction(MI)and all-cause mortality at 2 years follow-up.AIM To perform meta-analysis for patients undergoing ICBT for recurrent DES-ISR.METHODS We performed a systematic search of the PubMed/MEDLINE,Cochrane and DARE databases to identify relevant articles.Studies were excluded if intracoronary brachytherapy was used as a treatment modality for initial ISR and studies with bare metal stents.We used a random-effect model with DerSimonian&Laird method to calculate summary estimates.Heterogeneity was assessed using I2 statistics.RESULTS A total of 6 observational studies were included in the final analysis.Procedural angiographic success following intra-coronary brachytherapy was 99.8%.Incidence of MI at 1-year was 2%and 4.1%at 2-years,respectively.The incidence of TLR 14.1%at 1-year and 22.7%at 2-years,respectively.All-cause mortality at 1-and 2-year follow-up was 3%and 7.5%,respectively.CONCLUSION Given the observational nature of the studies included in the analysis,heterogeneity was significantly higher for outcomes.While there are no randomized controlled trials or definitive guidelines available for recurrent ISR associated with DES,this analysis suggests that brachytherapy might be the alternative approach for recurrent DES-ISR.Randomized controlled trials are required to confirm results from this study.

Efficacy of Short-term Dual Antiplatelet Therapy after Implantation of Second-generation Drug-eluting Stents:A Meta-analysis and Systematic Review

Objective The benefit of short-term dual antiplatelet therapy(DAPT) following second-generation drug-eluting stents implantation has not been systematically evaluated. To bridge the knowledge gap,we did a meta-analysis to assess the efficacy of ≤6 months versus ≥12 months DAPT among patients with second-generation drug-eluting stents. Methods We searched online databases and identified randomized controlled trials that assess the clinical impact of short-term DAPT(≤6 months) published before March 3,2016. The efficacy endpoints included the incidence of all-cause death,myocardial infarction,cerebrovascular accidents,and definite or probable stent thrombosis. Safety endpoint defined as major bleeding was also evaluated and discussed. Results We included 5 trials that randomized 9473 participants(49.8%,short-term DAPT duration vs. 50.2%,standard duration). A total of 9445(99.7%) patients reported the efficacy endpoints,and the safety endpoint was available from 4 studies(n=8457). There was no significant difference in efficacy endpoints between short-term and standard DAPT duration(≥12 months) [risk ratio(RR) 0.96; 95% confidence intervals(CI),0.80-1.15]. Short-term DAPT duration did not significantly increase the individual risk of all-cause death,myocardial infarction,cerebrovascular accidents,or definite or probable stent thrombosis. Although short-term DAPT obviously reduced risk of major bleeding compared with standard DAPT(RR 0.53; 95% CI,0.29-0.96),significant publication bias was found when accessing the safety endpoint of the 4 studies(Egger's test,P=0.009). Conclusions The efficacy of short-term DAPT was comparable with that of standard duration DAPT.DAPT less than 6 months may be appropriate for patients receiving second-generation drug-eluting stents implantation.

Organ transplantation and drug eluting stents:Perioperative challenges

Patients listed for organ transplant frequently have severe coronary artery disease(CAD), which may be treated with drug eluting stents(DES). Everolimus and zotarolimus eluting stents are commonly used. Newer generation biolimus and novolimus eluting biodegradable stents are becoming increasingly popular. Patients undergoing transplant surgery soon after the placement of DES are at increased risk of stent thrombosis(ST) in the perioperative period. Dual antiplatelet therapy(DAPT) with aspirin and a P2Y12 inhibitor such as clopidogrel, prasugrel and ticagrelor is instated post stenting to decrease the incident of ST. Cangrelor has recently been approved by Food and Drug Administration and can be used as a bridging antiplatelet drug. The risk of ischemia vs bleeding must be considered when discontinuing or continuing DAPT for surgery. Though living donor transplant surgery is an elective procedure and can be optimally timed, cadaveric organ availability is unpredictable, therefore, discontinuation of antiplatelet medication cannot be optimally timed. The type of stent and timing of transplant surgery can be of utmost importance. Many platelet function point of care tests such as Light Transmittance Aggregrometry, Thromboelastography Platelet Mapping, VerifyN ow, Multiple Electrode Aggregrometry are used to assess bleeding risk and guide perioperative platelet transfusion. Response to allogenic platelet transfusion to control severe intraoperative bleeding may differ with the antiplatelet drug. In stent thrombosis is an emergency where management with either a drug eluting balloon or a DES has shown superior outcomes. Post-transplant complications often involved stenosis of an important vessel that may need revascularization. DES are now used for endovascular interventions for transplant orthotropic heart CAD, hepatic artery stenosis post liver transplantation, transplant renal artery stenosis following kidney transplantation, etc. Several antiproliferative drugs used in the DES are inhibitors of mammalian target of rapamycin. Thus they are used for post-transplant immunosuppression to prevent acute rejection in recipients with heart, liver, lung and kidney transplantation. This article describes in detail the various perioperative challenges encountered in organ transplantation surgery and patients with drug eluting stents.

Major clinical and angiographic outcome of drug eluting stents in native ostial coronary artery disease

Objectives: The study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of drug eluting stents (DESs) in aorto-ostial (A-O) coronary artery lesions, in terms of early and late restenosis rate;including clinical assessment, non-invasive stress testing and angiographic follow-up. Also, the study was aimed to compare the results of implantation of drug eluting stents (DES) to that of bare metal stents (BMS) in aortoostial lesions done over a previous 5 years in Royal Brompton Hospital. Background: The safety and effectiveness of DESs for the treatment of aortoostial lesions. Methods: We included 161 consecutive patients with symptoms subjective of angina pectoris or objective evidence of myocardial ischemia;who underwent percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) in coronary ostial lesions using DES. The patients were divided into two groups based on the site of ostial lesion. The control group consisted of 125 consecutive patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention for ostial lesions using bare metal stents (BMS) implantation in the period immediately before the introduction of DES. The incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE), including death or Q-wave myocardial infarction (MI), need for repeated revascularization procedure CABG or angioplasty, were recorded in-hospital and at twelve months ± 3 months. Follow-up angiography was only performed in case of recurrent symptoms subjective of myocardial ischemia or if there was objective evidence of myocardial ischemia by stress testing. Results: The initial procedure was successful in 149 patients (92.5%) in the DES arm. There were no statistically significant major in-hospital complications in the DES group, compared to BMS group which showed 4 cases of in-hospital deaths (p = 0.017). At Twelve months ± 3 months follow-up, MACE were significantly less frequent in the DES group compared to the BMS group, including death (0.8% vs. 6.4%, p = 0.004) and need for CABG (1.7% vs. 10%, p = 0.012). Conclusions: The main finding of our study is that, compared to the BMS, implantation of the DES in coronary ostial lesions appears safe and effective. It is associated with high procedural success rate, low immediate and in-hospital complication rate, infrequent late adverse events and favourable long-term clinical and angiographic outcomes compared with bare metal stents implantation at 12-month follow-up. Advanced age, previous myocardial infarction and acute coronary syndromes at presentation were all found to be independent positive predictors for clinical events after drug eluting stent implantation in ostial lesions.

Fabrication and Drug Release Property of Silk Fibroin-Based Weft-Knitted Stents

This paper was to develop a weft-knitted stent coated by a drng-loaded electro-spun fibrous membrane and then investigate its morphology, mechan/cal properties and in vitro drug release property. This work was started by weft-knitting of an inner layer of such stent using polydioxanone （PDO） and silkf＇dment. Subsequently, 5-fluorouracil （5-FU） and curcnmin（CUR） loaded silk fibroin （SF） membranes were coated on the surface of the weft- knitted stent using electro-spinning technique to endow the drug delivery funct/on of the stent. The results show that the radial compression strength and c/renmferentlal expanding strength can reach above （9.1±0.4） cN/cm2 and （205.0± 0.2） cN/mm, respectively. The drug releasing behaviors can be sustained for 400 h. It is concluded that the stents have potential application as anintestinal stent in the future.

Stent,drug,polymer——enefits,risks,and opportunities

It has been well established that use of drug-eluting stents has resulted in marked reduction in neointimal proliferation following stenting and that this is reflected clinically in a very significant decrease in late lumen loss, instent restenosis, and target lesion revascularization. This benefit occurs, however, in the setting of delayed endothelial and vascular wall healing with its potential for continuing thrombogenicity requiring more prolonged use of dual antiplatelet therapy to prevent stent thrombosis.……

Are Newer-Generation Drug-Eluting Stents More Effective in Women than Early-Generation Ones?

Evidence-based research is increasingly aimed at differentiating between no proof of difference (failed demonstration of superiority) and proof of no difference (demonstration of equivalence). The latter requires that equivalence margins are incorporated in the analysis of outcomes. We applied an analysis of equivalence to study the incremental benefit of newer-generation vs early-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) in women receiving percutaneous coronary intervention. The clinical material was derived from published data. Our equivalence testing was focused on the end-point of target-lesion revascularisation (TLR). Results were expressed as rate differences (RDs), while the equivalence margins (±2.9%) were derived from the statistical power calculations of a recent trial. Our results clearly indicated that, in women, there was an equivalent effectiveness between newer-generation and early-generation of DES.

Successful Percutaneous Treatment of Coronary Artery Ectasia with Drug-Eluting Stent

Coronary artery ectasia is well-known but relatively uncommon finding with prevalence ranging from 1.2% to 5.3%. Coronary artery ectasia has been associated with atherosclerosis in approximately half of the cases. Here, we are presenting a case of male patient who experienced myocardial infarction and was diagnosed with coronary artery ectasia in proximal-mid junction of left anterior descending artery with stenotic lesion. The patient was successfully treated with percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty.

Drug-Eluting Stent for the Treatment of Early Fistula Failure

Introduction: Morbidity and mortality in chronic haemodialysis patients is related to dialysis efficiency. Several complications may occur with vascular access, usually associated with a stenosis. This is known to occur frequently in the venous outflow. Stenosis of the arterial side is not as frequently discussed, but it is also likely to compromise fistula function. Traditionally, surgical and percutaneous interventions have been used to treat failing fistulas, but the employment of drug-eluting stents for the treatment of failing fistulas due to the arterial stenosis has been described rarely. Methods: A 65-year-old male patient referred to our ambulatory because of hand ischemia during haemodialysis treatments only few days after radial-cephalic fistula creation. After physical and echo-color-doppler examination, angiography was performed and percutaneous intervention was proposed. After the positioning of a guiding catheter, the lesion was crossed with a 0.014” guide wire followed by direct drug-eluting stent implantation. Results: Final angiogram showed a good result and a preserved flow through the fistula. Six months later the patient was asymptomatic and the fistula was still working. Conclusion: Although further prospective studies are necessary, percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) with drug-eluting stents implantation could be considered a safe and effective technique for the treatment of arteriovenous fistulas stenosis.

Giant Coronary Artery Pseudoaneurysm after Drug-Eluting Stent Implantation

Formation of coronary artery pseudoaneurysm after percutaneous coronary intervention is rarely reported. A close review of available literature indicates a trend of growing incidence in recent times. Here, we present a case of coronary pseudoaneurysm developing in the left circumflex artery within 50 days of sirolimus-eluting stent implantation in a 47-year-old man who was treated for triple-vessel coronary artery disease. Initially, the patient refused any further treatment. However, considering the rapid growth of pseudoaneurysm and increased severity of symptoms at subsequent follow-up, we decided to treat giant pseudoaneurysm with embolization coils. The procedure was successful and the patient remained asymptomatic thereafter.

Clinical significance of provoked coronary spasm at chronic stage in patients who underwent successful complete coronary revascularization with first-generation drug-eluting stents

Background: Provoked spasm might have influence on cardiovascular events even after successful DES implantation. Methods and results: A consecutive 122 patients who underwent first-generation DES (CypherTM, and TaxusTM) implantation and had no residual stenosis at follow-up coronary angiography were included. All patients also underwent acetylcholine provocation test (ACh) at follow-up angiography. Age, sex, coronary risk factors (smoking, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia), medication (calcium channel blockers, angiotensin receptor blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, nitrates, β blockers, statins), duration from stent implantation to follow-up angiography (15.5 ± 14.5 months), old myocardial infarction, Ach + were included as variables for multivariate analysis for cardiovascular events (angina pectoris without intervention, target lesion revascularization, acute myocardial infarction, definite or probable stent thrombosis, cardiac death, and stroke). ACh provocation test was positive in 64.8%. The following events occurred during a mean follow-up period of 26.9 ± 9.5 months;angina pectoris without intervention in 12, very late stent thrombosis in 1, acute myocardial infarction in 1, sudden death in 1, and stroke in 4. By Adjusted Cox hazard model, age was the independent predictor of future cardiovascular events. ACh was unbalanced data for Cox hazard model, and by logistic regression model, ACh was the strongest predictor. Conclusions: Coronary endothelial dysfunction at chronic stage is the strongest predictor of further prognosis in patients with first-generation DES.