Selection of coronary stents

AbstractIn clinical practice, the operator must decide which stent is most appropriate for the patient. This article focuses on the features of stent design that make a specific stent more or less suitable for a particular type of lesion or anatomy: the “average” coronary lesion, the lesion situated on a curve, the ostial lesion, the bifurcational lesion, the lesion located at the left main stem, the calcified lesion, the chronic total occlusion, the small vessel, the saphenous vein graft, acute or threatened vessel closure, and special situations such as coronary aneurysms and perforations

Compression limits in cascaded quadratic soliton compression

Cascaded quadratic soliton compressors generate under optimal conditions few-cycle pulses. Using theory and numerical simulations in a nonlinear crystal suitable for high-energy pulse compression, we address the limits to the compression quality and efficiency

Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stents in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus Pooled Analysis From 5 Randomized Trials

ObjectivesWe sought to examine the safety and efficacy of paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM).BackgroundCompared with patients without DM, patients with DM undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention are at increased risk for mortality and restenosis. The safety of drug-eluting stents in diabetic patients has recently been called into question by a published meta-analysis of randomized trials.MethodsPatient-level data were pooled from 5 prospective, double-blind, randomized trials of PES versus bare-metal stents (BMS) (n = 3,513). Safety and efficacy outcomes through 4 years of follow-up were assessed among the 827 randomized patients (23.6%) with DM.ResultsPatients treated with PES and BMS has similar baseline characteristics among both the diabetic and nondiabetic cohorts within these trials. At 4-year follow-up, there were no significant differences between PES and BMS among diabetic patients in the rates of death (8.4% vs. 10.3%, respectively, p = 0.61), myocardial infarction (6.9% vs. 8.9%, p = 0.17), or stent thrombosis (1.4% vs. 1.2%, p = 0.92). Treatment of diabetic patients with PES compared with treatment with BMS was associated with a significant and durable reduction in target lesion revascularization over the 4-year follow-up period (12.4% vs. 24.7%, p < 0.0001). The relative safety and efficacy of PES compared with the relative safety and efficacy of BMS in diabetic patients extended to both those requiring and not requiring insulin.ConclusionsIn these 5 randomized trials in which patients with single, primarily noncomplex lesions were enrolled, treatment with PES compared with treatment with BMS was safe and effective, resulting in markedly lower rates of target lesion revascularization at 4 years, with similar rates of death, myocardial infarction, and stent thrombosis

Clinical Outcomes Following Stent Thrombosis Occurring In-Hospital Versus Out-of-Hospital Results From the HORIZONS-AMI (Harmonizing Outcomes with Revascularization and Stents in Acute Myocardial Infarction) Trial

ObjectivesThe study sought to determine whether rapid access to medical care and reperfusion results in a better prognosis in patients with in-hospital compared with out-of-hospital stent thrombosis (ST) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in the HORIZONS-AMI (Harmonizing Outcomes with Revascularization and Stents in Acute Myocardial Infarction) trial.BackgroundWhether the prognosis of in-hospital and out-of-hospital ST are similar is uncertain, with conflicting data reported from prior studies.MethodsA total of 3,602 STEMI patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were randomized to bivalirudin (n = 1,800) versus unfractionated heparin (UFH) plus a glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor (GPI) (UFH+GPI; n = 1,802). Stents were implanted in 3,202 patients, 156 (4.9%) of whom developed Academic Research Consortium definite/probable ST during 3-year follow-up. We investigated the 1-year clinical outcomes after ST in 54 patients with in-hospital ST compared with 102 patients with out-of-hospital ST.ResultsOne year after the ST event, patients with in-hospital compared with out-of-hospital ST had significantly greater mortality (27.8% vs. 10.8%, p < 0.01); most deaths in both groups occurred within 1 week of the ST event. Patients with in-hospital ST also had higher rates of major bleeding (21.2% vs. 6.0%, p < 0.01), but a lower rate of myocardial infarction (56.6% vs. 77.5%, p < 0.01). Subgroup analysis within both in-hospital and out-of-hospital ST groups indicated that subacute ST had the highest mortality. By multivariable analysis, 1-year mortality was significantly increased in patients with in-hospital compared with out-of-hospital ST (adjusted hazard ratio: 4.62, 95% confidence interval: 1.98 to 10.77, p < 0.01). Additional correlates of increased mortality after an ST event included diabetes and randomization to UFH+GPI (vs. bivalirudin).ConclusionsFollowing primary PCI for STEMI, more than one-third of all ST events during 3-year follow-up occurred during the index hospital phase. Mortality and major bleeding were significantly higher after in-hospital ST compared with out-of-hospital ST. (Harmonizing Outcomes With Revascularization and Stents in Acute Myocardial Infarction; NCT00433966