Effective plaque removal with a new 8 French-compatible atherectomy catheter.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the new 8 Fr guide catheter-compatible Flexicut directional atherectomy device and to compare it with the conventional Atherocath GTO catheter. The 6 Fr Flexicut catheter has a larger cutting window and a titanium nitride-coated cutter to effect more tissue removal as well as treat mildly calcified lesions. A group of 143 lesions in 117 consecutive patients treated with the Flexicut catheter in four centers were compared with a control group of 277 lesions in 212 consecutive patients treated with the GTO device. Postatherectomy luminal diameters were larger (2.92 +/- 0.79 vs. 2.52 +/- 0.64 mm; P < 0.0001), with more luminal gain (relative gain: 0.58 +/- 0.24 vs. 0.48 +/- 0.25; P = 0.0007) using fewer directional coronary atherectomy (DCA) cuts (12 +/- 7 vs. 16 +/- 9; P = 0.0001) in the Flexicut group. A residual diameter stenosis < 20\% immediately after DCA was obtained in 77\% of the lesions in the Flexicut group vs. 45\% in the GTO group (P < 0.0001). Histology in the former group revealed large calcium speckles in the retrieved specimens. In the Flexicut group, there was a lower incidence of access site complications and damage to the coronary ostium (2.5\% vs. 7.5\%; P = 0.08). The new Flexicut catheter is more effective than the conventional GTO catheter with a trend for reduced guiding catheter-related complications

Design and rationale for the Minimizing Adverse haemorrhagic events by TRansradial access site and systemic Implementation of angioX program

Transradial intervention (TRI) and bivalirudin infusion compared with transfemoral coronary intervention or unfractionated heparin plus glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors decrease bleeding complications in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Although bleeding is thought to be associated with worse outcomes, it remains unclear whether TRI and bivalirudin both independently lower ischemic or combined ischemic and bleeding complications in ACS patients undergoing contemporary invasive management

Radial versus femoral access and bivalirudin versus unfractionated heparin in invasively managed patients with acute coronary syndrome (MATRIX): final 1-year results of a multicentre, randomised controlled trial

Background: The Minimizing Adverse Haemorrhagic Events by Transradial Access Site and Systemic Implementation of Angiox (MATRIX) programme was designed to assess the comparative safety and effectiveness of radial versus femoral access and of bivalirudin versus unfractionated heparin with optional glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors in patients with the whole spectrum of acute coronary syndrome undergoing invasive management. Here we describe the prespecified final 1-year outcomes of the entire programme. Methods: MATRIX was a programme of three nested, randomised, multicentre, open-label, superiority trials in patients with acute coronary syndrome in 78 hospitals in Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden. Patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction were simultaneously randomly assigned (1:1) before coronary angiography to radial or femoral access and to bivalirudin, with or without post-percutaneous coronary intervention infusion or unfractionated heparin (one-step inclusion). Patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome were randomly assigned (1:1) before coronary angiography to radial or femoral access and, only if deemed eligible to percutaneous coronary intervention after angiography (two-step inclusion), entered the antithrombin type and treatment duration programmes. Randomisation sequences were computer generated, blocked, and stratified by intended new or current use of P2Y12 inhibitor (clopidogrel vs ticagrelor or prasugrel), and acute coronary syndrome type (ST-elevation myocardial infarction, troponin-positive, or troponin-negative non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome). Bivalirudin was given as a bolus of 0·75 mg/kg, followed immediately by an infusion of 1·75 mg/kg per h until completion of percutaneous coronary intervention. Heparin was given at 70–100 units per kg in patients not receiving glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors, and at 50–70 units per kg in patients receiving glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors. Clinical follow-up was done at 30 days and 1 year. Co-primary outcomes for MATRIX access and MATRIX antithrombin type were major adverse cardiovascular events, defined as the composite of all-cause mortality, myocardial infarction, or stroke up to 30 days; and net adverse clinical events, defined as the composite of non-coronary artery bypass graft-related major bleeding, or major adverse cardiovascular events up to 30 days. The primary outcome for MATRIX treatment duration was the composite of urgent target vessel revascularisation, definite stent thrombosis, or net adverse clinical events up to 30 days. Analyses were done according to the intention-to-treat principle. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01433627. Findings: Between Oct 11, 2011, and Nov 7, 2014, we randomly assigned 8404 patients to receive radial (4197 patients) or femoral (4207 patients) access. Of these 8404 patients, 7213 were included in the MATRIX antithrombin type study and were randomly assigned to bivalirudin (3610 patients) or heparin (3603 patients). Patients assigned to bivalirudin were included in the MATRIX treatment duration study, and were randomly assigned to post-procedure infusion (1799 patients) or no post-procedure infusion (1811 patients). At 1 year, major adverse cardiovascular events did not differ between patients assigned to radial access compared with those assigned to femoral access (14·2% vs 15·7%; rate ratio 0·89, 95% CI 0·80–1·00; p=0·0526), but net adverse clinical events were fewer with radial than with femoral access (15·2% vs 17·2%; 0·87, 0·78–0·97; p=0·0128). Compared with heparin, bivalirudin was not associated with fewer major adverse cardiovascular (15·8% vs 16·8%; 0·94, 0·83–1·05; p=0·28) or net adverse clinical events (17·0% vs 18·4%; 0·91, 0·81–1·02; p=0·10). The composite of urgent target vessel revascularisation, stent thrombosis, or net adverse clinical events did not differ with or without post-procedure bivalirudin infusion (17·4% vs 17·4%; 0·99, 0·84–1·16; p=0·90). Interpretation: In patients with acute coronary syndrome, radial access was associated with lower rates of net adverse clinical events compared with femoral access, but not major adverse cardiovascular events at 1 year. Bivalirudin with or without post-procedure infusion was not associated with lower rates of major adverse cardiovascular events or net adverse clinical events. Radial access should become the default approach in acute coronary syndrome patients undergoing invasive management. Funding: Italian Society of Invasive Cardiology, The Medicines Company, Terumo, amd Canada Research Chairs Programme

Acute Kidney Injury After Radial or Femoral Access for Invasive Acute Coronary Syndrome Management: AKI-MATRIX

Background It remains unclear whether radial access (RA), compared with femoral access (FA), mitigates the risk of acute kidney injury (AKI). Objectives The authors assessed the incidence of AKI in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) enrolled in the MATRIX-Access (Minimizing Adverse Haemorrhagic Events by Transradial Access Site and Systemic Implementation of Angiox) trial. Methods Among 8,404 patients, 194 (2.3%) were excluded due to missing creatinine values, no or an incomplete coronary angiogram, or previous dialysis. The primary AKI-MATRIX endpoint was AKI, defined as an absolute (>0.5 mg/dl) or a relative (>25%) increase in serum creatinine (sCr). Results AKI occurred in 634 patients (15.4%) with RA and 712 patients (17.4%) with FA (odds ratio [OR]: 0.87; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.77 to 0.98; p = 0.0181). A >25% sCr increase was noted in 633 patients (15.4%) with RA and 710 patients (17.3%) with FA (OR: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.77 to 0.98; p = 0.0195), whereas a >0.5 mg/dl absolute sCr increase occurred in 175 patients (4.3%) with RA versus 223 patients (5.4%) with FA (OR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.63 to 0.95; p = 0.0131). By implementing the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes criteria, AKI was 3-fold less prevalent and trended lower with RA (OR: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.70 to 1.03; p = 0.090), with stage 3 AKI occurring in 28 patients (0.68%) with RA versus 46 patients (1.12%) with FA (p = 0.0367). Post-intervention dialysis was needed in 6 patients (0.15%) with RA and 14 patients (0.34%) with FA (p = 0.0814). Stratified analyses suggested greater benefit with RA than FA in patients at greater risk for AKI. Conclusions In ACS patients who underwent invasive management, RA was associated with a reduced risk of AKI compared with FA. (Minimizing Adverse Haemorrhagic Events by TRansradial Access Site and Systemic Implementation of angioX [MATRIX]; NCT01433627