What Treatment Should We Dare in Patients With In-Stent Restenosis?

Comparing the effectiveness and safety of rescue balloon angioplasty versus stenting in acute large vessel occlusion after thrombectomy

BACKGROUND

Intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS) is a leading cause of failed mechanical thrombectomy (MT). To achieve successful recanalisation, rescue strategies such as balloon angioplasty and stenting are frequently employed. In this study, we aimed to investigate the comparative efficacy and safety of these strategies.

METHODS

We retrospectively analysed the data of 321 patients with ICAS-related large vessel occlusion (LVO) treated with rescue balloon angioplasty (n=212) or stenting (n=109) after MT. The primary outcome was favourable outcomes (modified Rankin Scale score of 0-2) at 3 months. Multivariate logistic regression identified predictors of outcomes, including subgroup analyses for anterior and posterior circulation.

RESULTS

Overall, data of 321 patients (median age, 60 (IQR, 53-67) years; 80.4% male) were analysed from an initial cohort of 1601 patients. At 3 months, the balloon group demonstrated a trend towards a higher rate of favourable outcomes (34.9% vs 45.8%; OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.36 to 1.09, p=0.098). The stent group showed a trend towards a higher incidence of symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage (11.0% vs 4.2%; OR 2.22, 95% CI 0.80 to 6.14, p=0.124). In the posterior circulation subgroup, favourable outcomes were significantly lower in the stent group (20.5% vs 41.5%; OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.98, p=0.047).

CONCLUSION

Balloon angioplasty after MT may improve clinical outcomes to some extent in ICAS-related LVO with a lower incidence of intracranial haemorrhage compared with stenting, while stenting is an effective measure to prevent long-term restenosis.

Paclitaxel-coated balloon catheter versus paclitaxel-eluting stent for the treatment of coronary in-stent restenosis: A GRADE-assessed systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND

Paclitaxel is an antimicrotubular agent and is used to coat balloons and stents used in percutaneous coronary intervention. This study aims to provide a pooled comparison of paclitaxel-coated balloons (PCB) and paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) in terms of their efficacy in treating restenosis and their associated safety outcomes.

METHODS

We systematically searched PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, and Clinicaltrials.gov from inception until August 2024 to evaluate the outcomes between PCB and PES for treating coronary in-stent restenosis. Studies were deemed eligible if they compared PCB with PES in patients with coronary in-stent restenosis. Pooled data were reported using risk ratio (RR) for dichotomous outcomes and mean difference for continuous outcomes, along with 95% confidence intervals (CI). This systematic review and meta-analysis was registered with International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (CRD42024543509).

RESULTS

734 patients across 4 trials were included in this analysis. Descriptive analysis showed high device success in both groups (99.6% for PCB vs 97.9% for PES), while restenosis occurred in 20.6% of PCB patients and 23.7% of PES patients. Myocardial infarction rates were 1.9% for PCB and 3.0% for PES, while mortality was observed in 1.6% and 3.6% of patients, respectively. No significant differences between PCB and PES were revealed in terms of recurrent binary restenosis rates (RR: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.19 to 2.99) or late lumen loss (mean difference: -0.02; 95% CI: -0.25 to 0.22). Device success rates (RR: 1.01; 95% CI: 0.91 to 1.13), the incidence of myocardial infarction (RR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.24 to 1.69), and the incidence of death (RR: 0.48; 95% CI: 0.16 to 1.41) were also comparable between the 2 groups.

CONCLUSION

PCB provides a viable stent-free alternative to PES with comparable outcomes. Further studies, especially those focused on assessing patient-specific factors and lesion characteristics are required to guide optimal treatment selection.

Development and validation of a clinical prediction model for ischemic stroke recurrence after successful stent implantation in symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to analyze the risk factors for recurrent ischemic stroke in patients with symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS) who underwent successful stent placement and to establish a nomogram prediction model.

METHODS

We utilized data from a prospective collection of 430 consecutive patients at Jining NO.1 People's Hospital from November 2021 to November 2022, conducting further analysis on the subset of 400 patients who met the inclusion criteria. They were further divided into training (n=321) and validation (n=79) groups. In the training group, we used univariate and multivariate COX regression to find independent risk factors for recurrent stroke and then created a nomogram. The assessment of the nomogram's discrimination and calibration was performed through the examination of various measures including the Consistency index (C-index), the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves (AUC), and the calibration plots. Decision curve analysis (DCA) was used to evaluate the clinical utility of the nomogram by quantifying the net benefit to the patient under different threshold probabilities.

RESULTS

The nomogram for predicting recurrent ischemic stroke in symptomatic ICAS patients after stent placement utilizes six variables: coronary heart disease (CHD), smoking, multiple ICAS, systolic blood pressure (SBP), in-stent restenosis (ISR), and fasting plasma glucose. The C-index (0.884 for the training cohort and 0.87 for the validation cohort) and the time-dependent AUC (>0.7) indicated satisfactory discriminative ability of the nomogram. Furthermore, DCA indicated a clinical net benefit from the nomogram.

CONCLUSIONS

The predictive model constructed includes six predictive factors: CHD, smoking, multiple ICAS, SBP, ISR and fasting blood glucose. The model demonstrates good predictive ability and can be utilized to predict ischemic stroke recurrence in patients with symptomatic ICAS after successful stent placement.

Myocardial Work Evaluation-A Useful Non-Invasive Method to Predict Coronary Artery Sub-Occlusion in a Patient with Unstable Angina and Multiple Myocardial Revascularization Interventions

BACKGROUND

While lifestyle changes, management of coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors, myocardial revascularization procedures, and medication can improve a patient's prognosis, de novo native coronary lesions and in-stent restenosis (ISR) remain significant clinical concerns. ISR is more frequent with a bare-metal stent than with a drug-eluting stent and has been documented in around 12% of DES patients. Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) manifests as unstable angina in about 30% to 60% of ISR patients. Myocardial work imaging is a modern, non-invasive technique able to identify individuals with critical coronary artery lesions with high sensitivity and specificity.

CASE REPORT

We present the case of a 72-year-old Caucasian gentleman with multiple cardiovascular risk factors, admitted to the Cardiology Clinic of Timișoara Municipal Hospital with unstable angina. From 1999 to 2021, the patient experienced two myocardial infarctions, a double aortocoronary bypass graft, and multiple percutaneous coronary interventions with 11 stent implantations, including 6 for ISR. Using two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography and myocardial work assessment, we detected that the lateral wall of the left ventricle had a severely impaired deformation pattern. Angio-coronarography was performed, and sub-occlusion of the posterolateral branch of the right coronary artery was found. Angioplasty was performed and a DES was inserted, with a good final angiographic result and complete release of symptoms.

CONCLUSION

In patients with a history of multiple myocardial revascularization interventions and ISR, it is challenging to identify the critical ischemia region by non-invasive methods. Myocardial work imaging was beneficial in the detection of the altered deformation patterns indicating significant ischemia, its accuracy being superior to that of LV strain, as proven by coronary angiography. Urgent coronary angiography followed by angioplasty and stent implantation resolved the issue.

Results of paclitaxel-drug-coated balloons (Pantera Lux) for coronary in-stent restenosis: Italian experience from REGistry of Paclitaxel Eluting Balloon in ISR study

AIMS

Drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation is an effective treatment of in-stent restenosis (ISR). However, literature data indicate that drug-coated balloons (DCBs) may be a valid alternative, particularly for recurrent ISR. We sought to evaluate clinical results on the long-term efficacy of a new DCB for ISR treatment.

METHODS

One hundred and ninety-nine patients were treated with paclitaxel drug-coated balloons (Pantera Lux, Biotronik, Switzerland) in the Italian REGistry of Paclitaxel Eluting Balloon in ISR (REGPEB study). Clinical follow-up was scheduled at 1 and 12 months. A subgroup of patients received adjunctive 5-year follow-up. Primary end point was Major Adverse Cardiac Events (MACE) at 1 year.

RESULTS

A total of 214 ISR coronary lesions were treated (75.4% DES-ISR). Mean time between stent implantation and DCB treatment is 41 months. DCBs were successfully delivered in 99% of the cases; crossover to a DES occurred in 3% of cases. Procedural success rate was 98.5%. Clinical success rate was 98.5%. First-month follow-up compliance was 98% and freedom from MACE was 96.9%. Twelve-month follow-up compliance was 89.3% with a freedom from MACE rate of 87.3% (CI: 81.3-91.5%). Five-year long-term follow-up showed 65.2% of freedom from MACE.

CONCLUSION

Our study confirms that Pantera Lux treatment is effective and well tolerated in ISR, showing good acute and long/very long-term results in the treatment of complex lesions (DES and late ISR).

Efficacy of drug-coated balloon angioplasty in early versus late occurring drug-eluting stent restenosis: A pooled analysis from the randomized ISAR DESIRE 3 and DESIRE 4 trials

BACKGROUND

Whether there exist differences concerning clinical outcomes between patients presenting with early versus late DES-ISR undergoing treatment with drug-coated balloons (DCB) remains a scientific knowledge gap.

METHODS

This is a pooled analysis including patients with DES-ISR assigned to treatment with DCB in the setting of the ISAR DESIRE 3 and 4 trials. Clinical outcomes were evaluated according to time of occurrence of ISR after DES implantation, in patients presenting with early (≤12 months) versus late DES-ISR (>12 months) undergoing treatment with DCB. The primary endpoint of this analysis was major adverse cardiac event (MACE), defined as the combined incidence of death, myocardial infarction and target lesion revascularization (TLR) at 12 months after DCB treatment. Secondary endpoints included the incidence of death, myocardial infarction, TLR and target lesion thrombosis at 12 months after DCB treatment.

RESULTS

This analysis included 352 patients, 199 patients presented with early-ISR, 153 patients with late-ISR. Concerning the primary endpoint, patients with early-DES-ISR as compared those with late-DES-ISR showed significant higher risk (25.9% vs. 17.0%; p = .04). In a multivariate analysis including diabetic status, clinical presentation, previous coronary bypass graft and diameter stenosis after DCB-treatment, the adjusted hazard ratio showed significant higher risk for MACE of early-DES-ISR as compared to late-DES-ISR (HR_adj = 1.8, [95% CI = 1.1-3.0], p = .02).

CONCLUSION

Clinical outcome at 12 months after treatment of DES-ISR with DCB, showed significant higher clinical event rates in patients presenting with early DES restenosis, as compared with patients presenting with late DES restenosis.