Clinical and quantitative angiographic outcomes following elective implantation of the self-expanding Wallstent for longer coronary artery lesions--final results of the Wellstent native study

BACKGROUND: Implantation of short balloon-expandable stents provides superior clinical and angiographic outcome compared with balloon angioplasty in selected patients. The purpose of the Wellstent study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the self-expanding Wallstent combined with aspirin and ticlopidine in patients with stable or unstable angina related to a native coronary lesion up to 45 mm in length. METHODS: 105 patients (111 lesions) with stable (57%) or unstable (43%) angina were included in this prospective multicentre evaluation. Angiography before and after Wallstent implantation and at 6-month follow-up was analysed at the core lab using the CAAS 2 system. The primary end-point was incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) at 30 days. Secondary end-points were angiographic outcome at 6 months and MACE at 6 months and 1 year. RESULTS: Acute procedural success (successful stent implantation with residual stenosis <20%) was achieved in 99%. Mean reference diameter was 3.18 +/- 0.66 mm, minimal luminal diameter was 1.00 +/- 0.50 mm pre- and 2.84 +/- 0.47 mm poststent (diameter stenosis 16 +/- 6%). The mean hospital stay was 2.2 days. At 30 days, 95% of patients were free of MACE. At 6 month and 1 year clinical follow-up, 75% and 71% of patients, respectively, remained free of MACE, the majority of which (19 of 30) were re-interventions at re-angiography. In 90% of eligible patients, MLD at follow-up was 1.65 +/- 0.75 mm (late loss 1.20 +/- 0.66 mm, loss index 0.66), diameter stenosis 42 +/- 15%, with a restenosis rate of 32%. Longer stents were associated with greater luminal loss (P = 0.001) and less-favourable clinical outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Wallstent implantation, combined with aspirin and ticlopidine, achieved excellent acute and 30 day clinical results in a heterogenous high-risk patient group. Clinical outcome at 6 months and 1 year remained good, and most adverse events were re-PTCA during follow-up angiography. The loss index of 0.66 and restenosis rate of 32%, related in part to the use of longer stents, emphasizes the continuing need for effective anti-proliferative therapy.     

Clinical and angiographic results with the ACS MULTI-LINK DUET trade mark Coronary Stent System - the DUET Study

BACKGROUND: The DUET Study is a multicenter prospective efficacy and safety evaluation of the ACS MULTI-LINK DUET coronary stainless steel balloon-expandable stent. AIMS: The primary objective was to determine the one-month incidence of MACE (major adverse cardiac events). The secondary objectives were the acute success rate, the restenosis and reocclusion rates (assessed by quantitative coronary angiography (QCA)) at six months and the occurrence of MACE in hospital and at six months. METHODS: Two hundred and ten patients were enrolled between February and June 1998 in 18 European centers. Successful stent placement was achieved in 209 patients. All patients were treated with ticlopidine 500 mg/day for one month and with aspirin >/=100 mg/day. To allow the investigators to gain familiarity with the stent system, the first one to three patients per center formed a separate lead-in population leaving an intention-to-treat population of 157 patients. The majority of the intention-to-treat population were male (79%); 28% had unstable angina, 69% had stable angina, 44% had had a previous myocardial infarction, 15% had had a previous percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, and 3% had a history of stroke. The target vessel was 38.5% left anterior descending artery, 20.5% left circumflex artery and 41.0% right coronary artery. RESULTS: All but one of the intention-to-treat patients were effectively stented (17 required multiple stents). Six-month angiographic follow-up was available in 90% of the intention-to-treat population. Minimal lumen diameter (MLD) postprocedure was 2.61 +/- 0.33 mm, with a residual diameter stenosis of 16%. Six-month follow-up data showed an MLD of 1.87 +/- 0.56 mm with a residual diameter stenosis of 36%. The binary restenosis rate (>/=50% residual stenosis) was 15.6%. Up to one month following the procedure 94.9% of the population was MACE-free, with two subacute occlusions. At six months all patients were alive, of whom 82.8% were MACE-free, and 73% were free of anginal complaints. CONCLUSION: The results observed in the current DUET registry are comparable to data of other balloon-expandable-stent trials, with a low incidence of clinical events at follow-up.     

Clinical and angiographic results with the beStent: the Registry for Optimal beStent Evaluation (ROSE) trial

BACKGROUND: Although safety and efficacy of the beStent (Medtronic Inc., Santa Rosa, CA, USA) have been described, the long-term angiographic and clinical outcomes have yet to be investigated. The ROSE (Registry for Optimal beStent Evaluation) trial was designed to assess the procedural safety of single 15 mm beStent implantation, and the six-month angiographic and 12-month clinical outcomes of patients treated with this novel coronary stent. METHODS: Patients with angina and a single de novo lesion in a native coronary artery of >/=2.75 mm diameter were included in this multicenter, prospective, observational trial. Clinical follow-up was obtained at one, six and 12 months. Angiography was performed before and after the stent implantation and at six months. The primary end-point included major adverse cardiac events (death, myocardial infarction and target lesion revascularization), major bleeding complications, and thrombotic occlusions at one-month follow-up. Secondary end-points were major cardiac-event-free survival at six- and 12-month follow-up and angiographic restenosis at six months. A total of 120 patients (80% male, mean age 58.6 +/- 10.6 years) with stable (48%) or unstable (44%) angina pectoris were allocated. The target vessel reference diameter pre-procedure was 2.85 +/- 0.52 mm. RESULTS: Minimal lumen diameter pre/post and at follow-up was 0.97 +/- 0.28 mm, 2.53 +/- 0.40 mm and 1.86 +/- 0.63 mm, respectively. Restenosis rate according to the >50% diameter stenosis criterion at six-month follow-up was 21.5%. At 12 months, the event-free survival rate was 75% (no deaths, two Q-wave and seven non-Q-wave infarctions, five bypass surgery interventions and 16 target lesion revascularizations), whilst 87% of the patients were free of angina pectoris. CONCLUSION: Despite the relatively high percentage of small vessels, the outcome of the ROSE trial is comparable to those observed in previous stent trials, indicating that the coronary beStent is safe and effective as a primary device for the treatment of native coronary artery lesions in patients with (un)stable angina pectoris.     

Clinical and angiographic results with the NIR stent: First International NIR Endovascular Stent Study (FINESS-II)

BACKGROUND: Although safety and efficacy of the NIR trade mark stent have been reported, the long-term angiographic and clinical outcomes have yet to be investigated. The FINESS-II study (First International NIR Endovascular Stent Study) was designed to assess the procedural safety of single 9 and 16 mm NIR stent implantation, the six-month restenosis rate and finally the six- and 12-month clinical outcome of patients treated with this novel coronary stent. METHODS: Patients with angina and a single de novo lesion in a native coronary artery of >3 and <5 mm diameter were included in this multicentre, prospective, observational trial. Clinical follow-up was obtained at one, six and 12 months. Angiography was performed before and after the stent implantation and at six months. The primary endpoint included major adverse cardiac events (death, myocardial infarction and target lesion revascularization) within 30 days after the procedure. Major bleeding complications and subacute stent thrombosis within the first 30 days were also reported as specific endpoints. Secondary endpoints were major cardiac-event-free survival at six- and 12-month follow-up and angiographic restenosis at six months. RESULTS: A total of 156 patients (81% male, mean age 60 +/- 10 years), with stable (54%), unstable (40%) angina pectoris or silent ischemia (6%) were enrolled. The target vessel diameter was 2.94 +/- 0.54 mm. The minimal lumen diameter pre, post and at follow-up was 1.04 +/- 0.32 mm, 2.64 +/- 0.42 mm and 1.88 +/- 0.63 mm, respectively. Restenosis rate according to the >50% diameter stenosis criterion at six month follow-up was 19% (26/136). At 12 months, the event-free survival rate was 83% (two deaths, one Q-wave and three non-Q-wave myocardial infarctions, four bypass surgery and 17 target lesion revascularizations), while 87% of the patients were free of angina pectoris. CONCLUSION: the outcome of the FINESS-II trial is comparable to those observed in previous stent trials (Benestent II), indicating that the coronary NIR stent is safe and effective as a primary device for the treatment of native coronary artery lesions in patients with (un)stable angina pectoris.     

Prospective register of primary percutaneous coronary interventions in patients with acute myocardial infarction

The present study has evaluated the immediate angiographic results of primary percutaneous interventions (PCI) in patients with acute myocardial infarction, as well as hospital and 6-month clinical outcomes. The analysis covered a total of 265 patients (females (23%) and males (77%)); their mean age was 57+/-11 years. The mean time before the first balloon dilatation during PCI was 278+/-135 minutes after the development of the pain syndrome or 109+/-94 minutes after hospital admission. PCI proved to be effective in 96% of the patients, as evidenced by angiography. TIMI 3 blood flow was achieved in 83% of cases during PCI. After primary PCI, hospital mortality was 98.9% and 95% survived 6 months. At 6-month follow-up, 22% patients had positive exercise tests, recurrent angina pectoris and/or more than 50% luminal stenosis of the infarct-related artery. Control angiography made less than 6 months later showed 11% restenosis. This prospective study has demonstrated the high immediate and long effectiveness and safety of primary interventions in acute myocardial infarction.     

经桡动脉心导管术诊断和治疗冠状动脉疾病的临床研究

目的:观察经桡动脉介入诊治冠心病的安全性和有效性。方法:对1503例患者进行了经桡动脉途径介入诊治,其中包括心绞痛患者1218例,心梗患者268例,二尖瓣和/或动脉瓣手术前对冠状动脉进行解剖学评估17例,观察患者手术安全性、成功率以及与经桡动脉手术相关的并发症发病率。结果:介入治疗成功率为93.1%(1400/1503),手术失败的主要原因为桡动脉穿刺失败(39例),严重桡动脉痉挛(42例),右锁骨下动脉不同程度的弯曲(18例),近端严重狭窄(14例)。术后有14例患者出现严重并发症(瞬时缺血性病变),60例出现有症状的窦性心动过缓,43例出现静脉血栓,77例出现血肿,88例出现桡动脉梗阻。结论:经桡动脉途径是一种安全、有效、患者更容易接受的冠心病介入诊治方法。     

11 例锁骨下动脉瘤腔内介入治疗体会

目的：总结锁骨下动脉瘤腔内介入治疗的经验。方法：11 例锁骨下动脉瘤,其中7 例真性动脉瘤4 例假性动脉瘤,均采用覆 膜支架腔内隔绝术进行治疗。结果：本组11 例患者腔内介入治疗成功率100%,共置入覆膜支架12 枚,无严重并发症发生,均痊 愈出院。经平均32.5 个月随访,全部患者无明显内漏发生,无动脉瘤复发,除3 例患者出现覆膜支架内轻度狭窄（<30%）外,余介 入治疗患者的锁骨下动脉血流均通畅。结论：腔内覆膜支架隔绝术治疗锁骨下动脉瘤是一种安全、有效的治疗手段。     

子宫动脉栓塞术治疗子宫肌瘤的临床应用价值

目的：研究子宫动脉栓塞术（UAE）治疗子宫肌瘤的安全性和临床应用价值,材料和方法：25例经临床,B超证实的子宫肌瘤患者,平均年龄43．5岁,主要临床表现为月经量增多21例,贫血16例,有压迫症状4例,选择性双侧子宫动脉插管造影,用聚己烯已醇海绵（PVA）颗粒栓塞该动脉。结果：UAE后第3,6个月随访,所有患者月经量均恢复正常,15例贫血,4例压迫症状者均缓解,第3,6个月B超复查子宫肌瘤体积分别缩小47．37％和51．31％,与UAE产比较有显著差异（P＜0．01）,缺血性盆腔疼痛（92％）是最常见的副反应,UAE后卵巢体积均无显著缩小（P＞0．05）,结论：介入性双侧子宫动脉栓塞术治疗子宫肌瘤是一种微创,安全的手术,可保留子宫及其功能,其近期疗效显著,子宫动脉栓塞治疗子宫肌瘤具有重要的临床应用价值。     

No influence of hemochromatosis-related gene mutations on restenosis rate in a retrospective study of 137 patients after coronary stent implantation

BACKGROUND: Recent publications have shown an increased risk of coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction in patients with alteration of the hemochromatosis-related gene (HFE gene). The HFE gene mutation is associated with elevated iron uptake and serum iron overloading. Iron plays an important role in promoting the oxidation of LDL cholesterol. The iron deposition in the endothelium and in the media is closely associated with the progression of atherosclerosis. However, it is unclear whether the mutation of the HFE gene also influences the rate of restenosis after coronary stent implantation. METHODS: In a retrospective analysis, 137 patients (pts.) who underwent elective coronary stent implantation were angiographically reevaluated after six months. All patients were part of the OPTICUS-study population which investigated optimized stent implantation guided by intravascular ultrasound. Computerized quantitative analysis was performed in all procedures in a double-blinded fashion. At six-month follow-up, DNA fragments containing the substitution of tyrosine for cytosine at codon 282 were amplified by PCR. The results were analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Statistical analysis was performed by multivariate linear regression. RESULTS: According to the HFE gene polymorphism we formed two subgroups: 129 pts. (94%) did not show changes in HFE gene (NH), 8 pts. (6%) were heterozygous for HFE Cys282Tyr (H). The groups did not differ in age, gender, extent of coronary artery disease, initial degree and length of stenosis and all patients underwent re-angiography. At six-month follow-up the average luminal narrowing in the stented vessel was 36.2 +/- 20.3% in the NH group compared with 27.8 +/- 20.0% in the H group which was statistically not significant (n. s.). The minimal luminal diameter was 1.9 +/- 0.71 mm in the NH group and 2.2 +/- 0.66 mm in the H group respectively (n. s.). 33 pts (26%) in the NH group versus 2 pts (25%) in the H group had >/= 50% diameter narrowing at follow-up (n. s.). The odds ratio of stent restenosis in H patients was 0.932. CONCLUSIONS: The authors did not find any association between restenosis rate and HFE gene alteration and therefore, we conclude that the polymorphism of the HFE gene is not a risk factor for restenosis after coronary stent implantation.     

The effect of regular physical activity on the left ventricle systolic function in patients with chronic coronary artery disease

The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of aerobic training on the left ventricular (LV) systolic function. Thirty patients with stable coronary artery disease, who had participated in the conducted 3-month physical training, were retrospectively divided into 2 cohorts. While patients in the cohort I (n=14) had continued training individually for 12 months, patients in the cohort II (n=16) had stopped training after finishing the conducted program. Rest and stress dobutamine/atropine echocardiography was performed in all patients before the training program and 1 year later. The peak systolic velocities of mitral annulus (Sa) were assessed by tissue Doppler imaging for individual LV walls. In addition, to determine global LV systolic longitudinal function, the four-site mean systolic velocity was calculated (Sa glob). According to the blood supply, left ventricular walls were divided into 5 groups: A- walls supplied by nonstenotic artery; B- walls supplied by coronary artery with stenosis ≤50 %; C- walls supplied by coronary artery with stenosis 51-70 %; D- walls with stenosis of supplying artery 71-99 %; and E- walls with totally occluded supplying artery. In global systolic function, the follow-up values of Sa glob in cohort I were improved by 0.23±0.36 as compared with baseline values at rest, and by 1.26±0.65 cm/s at the maximal load, while the values of Sa glob in cohort II were diminished by 0.53±0.22 (p=NS), and by 1.25±0.45 cm/s (p<0.05), respectively. Concerning the resting regional function, the only significant difference between cohorts in follow-up changes was found in walls E: 0.37±0.60 versus -1.76±0.40 cm/s (p<0.05). At the maximal load, the significant difference was found only in walls A (0.16±0.84 versus -2.67±0.87 cm/s; p<0.05). Patients with regular 12-month physical activity improved their global left ventricle systolic function mainly due to improvement of contractility in walls supplied by a totally occluded coronary artery.     

Circulating stromal osteonectin-positive progenitor cells and stenotic coronary atherosclerosis

The level of circulating stromal progenitor cells carrying osteonectin (ON), a marker of osteogenic differentiation, was evaluated by flow cytometry in blood of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Ninety-nine patients with CAD were included into the study. Coronary angiography of all patients showed critical stenosis of at least 2 coronary arteries or their major branches. The control groups included 8 patients without CAD and 19 healthy volunteers. In control patients, no lesions of the coronary bed were found by angiography. The absence of CAD in the volunteers was confirmed by bicycle stress test. The content of ON-positive cells in blood was examined in various populations of lymphocyte-like cells. It was found that the number of ON+ lymphocyte-like cells with CD41 positivity in blood of patients without coronary stenosis (0.27%+/-0.11%, mean+/-SD) did not differ significantly from corresponding value in healthy volunteers (0.26%+/-0.07%, p=0.94). In CAD patients, the percent of these ON+ cells was 1.01%+/-0.49% and was significantly higher than in blood of healthy volunteers (p<0.0001) and patients without CAD (p<0.0001). High content of ON+ lymphocyte-like cells with CD41 positivity in blood may serve as noninvasive marker of arterial atherosclerosis.     

血管内介入治疗颅内动脉瘤合并缺血性脑血管疾病的临床研究

摘要 目的：探讨血管内介入治疗颅内动脉瘤（IA）合并缺血性脑血管疾病的安全性和有效性。方法：回顾性分析了2018年1月至2020年12月使用血管内介入治疗IA合并缺血性脑血管疾病的32例临床资料。结果：32例中共发现了35枚IA,37处狭窄。IA平均大小为（5.17±3.12）mm,其中位于颈内动脉有26枚（74%）,位于椎基底动脉有9枚（26%）,7例（22%）患者术前检查发现存在两枚IA。37处狭窄中,位于椎基底动脉有9处（24%）,位于颅外段有8处（22%）,其余20处狭窄（54%）均位于颈内动脉,术前平均狭窄率为75.7%。所有病例手术过程顺利,术后IA中达到完全栓塞有31枚（89%）,4枚残留颈部（11%）。37处狭窄中,术后平均狭窄率为8.8%,所有患者术后造影脑血管远端均通畅。治疗期间1例支架内再狭窄,1例脑血管痉挛,出院时所有病例改良Rankin评分量表（mRS）均小于2分。32位患者均得到术后全脑血管造影（DSA）随访,随访时间为6到18个月（平均为8.8个月）,随访期间1例出现支架内再狭窄。结论：血管内介入治疗IA合并缺血性脑血管疾病是安全有效的,值得临床借鉴应用。     

Pre and postoperative assessment of regional cerebral blood flow in hydrocephalus by 99mTc-hexamethyl-propylenamine oxime SPECT

Cerebrovascular changes resulting from hydrocephalus still remain to be investigated. It has been suggested that hydrocephalus distorts the large feeding arteries and that the collapse of capillaries results in decreased cerebral blood flow. This clinical study was designed to evaluate the effect of shunting on regional cerebral blood flow in patients with obstructive hydrocephalus of varying duration. Technetium-99m hexamethyl propyleamine oxime (99mTc-HMPAO) was used to measure the cerebral perfusion, semiquantitatively, since the pattern of its distribution in brain is somewhat similar to that of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), and the pre and postoperative semiquantitative rCBF values of each lobe were calculated. Fifteen patients (8 F, 7 M) underwent both CT and single photon emission tomography (SPECT) using 99mTc-HMPAO examination before and 1 week after shunting. Mean percentage of all lobes were calculated by subtracting the preoperative mean rCBF of all lobes from the corresponding postoperative values. The patients were classified into 3 groups according to the mean percentage of all lobes. Group A: showed a marked increase in mean cortical blood flow (+ 16.00 +/- 2.9%), group B: a moderate increase (11.27 +/- 4.8%), and in group C: there was the least improvement in mean cortical blood flow (+ 1.17 +/- 2.7%). The mean duration of hydrocephalus of group A, group B and group C was 5 +/- 0.5 weeks, 8 +/- 1 weeks and more than 12 weeks, respectively. Psychological testing and clinical observation of the daily activities of the patients postoperatively showed some correlation with increased rCBF and clinical improvement.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Low rates of clinical restenosis with the new flexible stainless steel tube intracoronary stent: the R Stent. A six-month safety and feasibility study

BACKGROUND: Coronary stents have been used with increasing frequency and in increasingly complex coronary lesions for the treatment of symptomatic coronary artery disease. A new stainless steel coronary stent, the R Stent, has been designed to provide maximum flexibility for tracking and high radial strength post-deployment. AIMS: To assess the safety and feasibility of the R Stent in patients with coronary artery disease. Specific objectives were to assess the R Stent's deployment success, angiographic and procedural success (< 20% residual stenosis and TIMI 3 flow), safety (absence of complications), 30-day and six-month clinical follow-up. METHODS: Between April 1998 and January 1999, stent deployment was attempted in 36 lesions in 30 patients with stable (43%) or unstable (57%) angina pectoris and 29/36 of the lesions were anatomically complex. Treated lesions were in the LAD (n = 15), RCA (n = 13) or LCX (n = 8). RESULTS: Stent deployment was achieved in 97% with one crossing failure in a patient with a long, calcified, proximal LAD lesion. After the procedure, patients were scheduled for one- and six-month clinical follow-up. One patient experienced a non-Q-wave myocardial infarction in hospital. At one month, there were no additional complications. Only one patient experienced recurrence of angina (CCS class 2) within the 30 days. At six-month follow-up, one sudden death had occurred. Three (10%) patients had anginal complaints, one of them received target lesion repeat PTCA. All other patients (87%) were event- and angina-free. CONCLUSION: This first clinical experience with the R Stent shows acceptable feasibility and safety with good long-term clinical results.     

Endovascular Treatment of Internal Iliac Artery Stenosis in Patients with Buttock Claudication

Aim

To assess the technical feasibility and clinical outcome of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) with and without stent placement for treatment of buttock claudication caused by internal iliac artery (IIA) stenosis.

Methods

Between September 2001 and July 2011, thirty-four patients with buttock claudication underwent endovascular treatment. After angiographic lesion evaluation PTA with or without stent placement was performed. Technical success was recorded. Clinical outcome post-treatment was assessed at three months post-intervention and was classified as: 1) complete relief of symptoms, 2) partial relief, or 3) no relief of symptoms. Complications during follow-up were recorded.

Results

Forty-four lesions in 34 symptomatic patients were treated with PTA. Eight lesions were treated with additional stent placement. Technical success was achieved in 40/44 lesions (91%). Three procedure-related minor complications occurred, i.e. asymptomatic conservatively treated intimal dissections. After a median of 2.9 months, patients experienced no relief of symptoms in 7/34 cases (21%), partial relief in 14/34 cases (41%), and complete relief in 13/34 cases (38%). Six patients required a reintervention during follow-up.

Conclusion

Endovascular treatment of IIA stenosis has a high technical success rate and a low complication rate. Complete or partial relief of symptoms is achieved in the majority (79%) of patients.     

Patients with coronary stenosis and a fractional flow reserve of ≥0.75 measured in daily practice at the VU University Medical Center

Objectives. The aim of this study was to analyse the rate of major adverse clinical events in patients with coronary artery disease and a fractional flow reserve (FFR) of ≥0.75 and deferred for coronary intervention in daily practice. Methods. From 1 January to 31 December 2006, FFR measurement was initiated in 122 patients (5%) out of 2444 patients referred for coronary angiography. In two patients FFR measurement failed and in one patient the FFR value could no longer be traced in the documents. Thus, 119 patients (84 men, 64 years, range 41-85) were included in the evaluation (145 lesions). Major adverse clinical events (death, myocardial infarction, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)) and the presence of angina were evaluated at follow-up. Furthermore a cost-effectiveness analysis was performed. Results. In 93 patients (76%) the FFR value was ≥0.75. Seventy of these 93 patients (76%) were treated with medication alone or underwent PCI for a different lesion (medical treatment group). Average duration of follow-up of all 119 patients was 22 months (range 4 days to 30 months). In the medical treatment group seven patients (10%) experienced a major adverse clinical event related to the FFR-evaluated lesion during follow-up. In this study population, the use of FFR measurement is cost-reducing provided that at least 65% of the patients in the medical treatment group has had a PCI with stent implantation when the use of FFR measurement is impossible. In this case, the decision to use PCI with stent implantation is purely based on the angiogram. Conclusions. In patients with a coronary stenosis based on visual assessment and an FFR of ≥0.75 deferral of PCI or CABG is safe in daily clinical practice and saves money. (Neth Heart J 2010;18:402-7.)     

Indications for and results of treatment of carotid artery stenosis

The authors discuss own experience with the treatment of carotid artery stenosis. Diagnostic principles and indications to surgical treatment, technique of block anesthesia, an operation and obtained results are also discussed. Internal carotid artery stenosis was treated surgically in 90 patients within 1985-1988. Block anesthesia enabling intraoperational control of patients' consciousness was used in 72 cases. Satisfactory early results were noted in 92.9% of patients. Two patients died after surgery whereas 5 patients suffered from neurological complications. Favourable late results (follow-up period ranged from 6 to 48 months) were noted in 64 out of 70 patients which reported to clinical examination (91.4%).     

Multicenter evaluation of the phosphorylcholine-coated biodivYsio stent in short de novo coronary lesions: The SOPHOS study

AIMS: The BiodivYsio trade mark stent (Biocompatibles Ltd, Farnham, UK) is coated with a phosphorylcholine (PC)-containing copolymer to confer biocompatibility. The SOPHOS (Study Of PHosphorylcholine coating On Stents) study was designed to assess the safety and efficacy of this novel coronary stent and by indirect comparison to indicate equivalence with other formal stent studies. METHODS AND RESULTS: Patients with angina and a single short (#x2A7F;12 mm) de novo lesion in a native coronary artery of >/=2.75 mm diameter were included. A total of 425 patients were allocated in 24 centers. Clinical data were collected at one-, six- and nine-month follow-up. Angiography was performed before and after the stent implantation. In addition, in the first 200 patients (SOPHOS A) angiography was routinely performed at six months. The following 225 patients (SOPHOS B) were merely followed up clinically. The primary end-point of the study, the six-month MACE-rate (MACE = Major Adverse Cardiac Events) was 13.4% (two cardiac death; five Q-wave/nine non-Q-wave myocardial infarctions (MI); nine CABG and 32 target lesion revascularization (TLR), which is similar to the calculated 15% MACE-rate in comparable reference studies. Secondary end-points included among others restenosis at six months in the SOPHOS A population. The target vessel diameter was 2.98 +/- 0.48 mm. Minimal lumen diameter pre/post procedure and at follow-up was 1.00 +/- 0.32, 2.69 +/- 0.37, 1.91 +/- 0.71 mm, respectively. The binary restenosis rate (>/=50% diameter stenosis at follow-up) was 17.7%. CONCLUSION: The coronary BiodivYsio stent is safe and effective as a primary device for the treatment of native coronary artery lesions in patients with stable or unstable angina pectoris. Clinical and angiographic results are in the statistical range of equivalence with comparable studies with other current stents.     

Efficacy and safety of coronary stenting during diagnostic coronary angiography in patients with stable angina

The authors assessed the in-hospital and long-term (up to 6 months) results of coronary stenting conducted just after diagnostic coronarography during a common procedure in patients with stable angina pectoris on effort. The 2001-2002 study included 2277 patients. The clinical indications for catheterization were Functional Classes II-IV stable angina on effort in 83 % of patients and silent ischemia in 17%. The study excluded patients with previous coronarography, acute coronary syndrome on admission, renal failure, left ventricular ejection fraction <30%, and left trunk stenosis. All the patients received aspirin and clopidogrel before catheterization. RESULTS: 57% of patients had multivessel disease; full revascularization was performed in 59% of the patients with multivessel disease. The coronary intervention was successful in 100% of cases. Significant in-hospital events (myocardial infarction without Q wave) were in 1.2% of cases. The mean length of hospital stay was 2.9 +/- 2.4 days. The rate of stent thrombosis for as long as 30 days was 0.2%. Recurrent angina and/or positive exercise tests were in 12% during 6 months. CONCLUSION: immediate stening is effective and safe in most patients with stable angina during diagnostic catheterization. It does not increase immediate and late complications.     

Bedside evaluation of the resistance of large and medium pulmonary veins in various lung diseases.

To evaluate the contribution of large and medium pulmonary veins to the total pulmonary vascular resistance in various human lung diseases, we compared in 64 patients the pulmonary arterial proximal wedge pressure (Ppw), obtained when the balloon of a 7F pulmonary artery catheter was inflated with 1.5 ml air, with the distal wedge pressure (Pdw), obtained after the tip of the catheter was advanced until wedged in a small artery without balloon inflation. Ppw, reflecting the pressure in a large pulmonary vein, approximates the left atrial pressure, whereas Pdw reflects the pressure in a smaller pulmonary vein. Pdw was greater than Ppw in all 64 patients. The Pdw-Ppw gradient was 1.1 +/- 0.5 mmHg in nine patients with normal lungs and was significantly higher in 13 patients with chronic congestive heart failure (3.8 +/- 0.8 mmHg, P less than 0.01) and in 22 patients with adult respiratory distress syndrome (3.8 +/- 0.8 mmHg; P less than 0.01), but not in 20 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (1.8 +/- 0.7 mmHg). The distribution of the pulmonary vascular resistance was clearly different among the four groups. The fraction of the total pulmonary vascular resistance attributable to large and medium pulmonary veins was significantly increased (P less than 0.01) in adult respiratory distress syndrome (27.5 +/- 12%) and cardiac patients (27.5 +/- 9%) compared with patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (13 +/- 5%) and normal lungs (13.5 +/- 6%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)