Insights From the FDA's MAUDE Database Regarding the Real-World Safety of Jetstream Atherectomy for Peripheral Arterial Disease

INTRODUCTION

Rotational atherectomy has shown promise as an adjunctive therapy to percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) and stenting for the treatment of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). However, published data regarding the safety of these devices are limited. The Food and Drug Administration Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience (MAUDE) database collects reports of adverse event for medical devices. We present 3 years of MAUDE adverse events data for the Jetstream Atherectomy System (Boston Scientific) for the treatment of PAD.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We searched MAUDE from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2021. Duplicate reports and those with insufficient information were excluded, leaving a total of 500 reports for analysis. Adverse events were categorized as either patient complication, device malfunction, or both. Adverse events were classified using the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe's (CIRSE) classification system for adverse events.

RESULTS

The most common patient complications were embolism (22; 4.4%), dissection (17; 3.4%), vessel perforation (12; 2.4%), and device fracture in the patient (6; 1.2%). The most common modes of device failure were entrapment of the device on the guidewire (134; 27%), loss of blade rotation (116; 23%), loss of aspiration (99; 20%), and mechanical damage (57; 11%). As per the CIRSE adverse events classification, most events had no post-procedural sequelae (475; 95%), followed by those requiring prolonged observation (14; 2.8%), and post-procedural therapy without long-term sequelae (10; 2.0%). One hundred six devices (21%) were returned for manufacturer analysis.

CONCLUSION

We highlight important adverse events encountered in real-world practice with the Jetstream Atherectomy System. This analysis provides further understanding of the safety profile and modes of failure of Jetstream, and could help guide improvements in product design and manufacturer-user training. There is greater need for root-cause analysis that can aided by returning devices to the manufacturer.

CLINICAL IMPACT

We highlight important adverse events encountered in real-world practice with the Jetstream Atherectomy System. The MAUDE database is useful for capturing and characterizing modes of device failure/malfunction not typically described in conventional clinical studies. This may provide valuable information to help guide improvements in product design and manufacturer-user training. This information could also potentially be useful in helping establish manufacturer and product liability in the setting of medicolegal claims. We hope that by contributing to the growing understanding of the safety profile of the Jetstream Atherectomy System, our study may help physicians and patients come to more informed decisions regarding treatment options for PAD.

Phoenix atherectomy for patients with peripheral artery disease

BACKGROUND

Endovascular atherectomy enables minimally invasive plaque removal in peripheral artery disease (PAD).

AIMS

We aimed to evaluate the safety and the long-term effectiveness of the Phoenix atherectomy for the treatment of complex and calcified lesions in PAD patients.

METHODS

Consecutive all-comer patients with PAD underwent the Phoenix atherectomy. Device safety in terms of perforation and distal embolisation were evaluated. Lesion calcifications were categorised by the Peripheral Arterial Calcium Scoring System (PACSS) and lesion complexity was assessed by the Transatlantic Inter-Society Consensus (TASC). Clinically driven target lesion revascularisation (TLR) was assessed.

RESULTS

A total of 558 lesions were treated in 402 consecutive patients. Clinical follow-up was available at 15.7±10.2 months for 365 (91%) patients. Of 402 patients, 135 (33.6%) had claudication, 37 (9.2%) had ischaemic rest pain and 230 (57%) exhibited ischaemic ulcerations. Lesions were mostly identified in the femoropopliteal segments (55%), followed by below-the-knee (BTK) segments (32%). Complex TASC C/D lesions and moderate to severe calcifications (PACSS score ≥2) were present in 331 (82%) and 323 (80%) patients, respectively. The mean lesion length was 20.6±14.3 cm. Five (1%) perforations and 10 (2%) asymptomatic embolisations occurred. Bail-out stenting was performed in 4%, 16% and 3% of patients with common femoral artery, femoropopliteal and BTK lesions, respectively. During follow-up, 5 (3.9%) patients with claudication and 52 (21.9%) patients with critical limb-threatening ischaemia (CLTI) died (hazard ratio [HR] 3.7; p<0.001). Freedom from TLR was 87.5% (112 of 128) in patients with claudication and 82.3% (195 of 237) in patients with CLTI, respectively (HR 1.8; p=0.03).

CONCLUSIONS

The Phoenix atherectomy can be safely performed in patients with complex lesions with a relatively low rate of bail-out stenting and clinically acceptable TLR rates.

GERMAN CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTER

DRKS00016708.

Embolic protection devices are not associated with improved outcomes of atherectomy for lower extremity revascularization

OBJECTIVE

Atherectomy is associated with a risk of distal embolization, but the role of embolic protection devices (EPD) during atherectomy is not well-defined. This study examines the utilization and impact of EPD on the outcomes of atherectomy during peripheral vascular interventions (PVI).

METHODS

The annual trend in utilization of EPD during atherectomy in the Vascular Quality Initiative PVI files (2010-2018) was derived. Patients with concomitant open surgery, acute limb ischemia, emergent-status, concomitant thrombolysis, missing indication, missing EPD use, missing long-term follow up data were excluded. The characteristics of patients undergoing atherectomy with and without EPD were compared. Propensity matching based on age, gender, race, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), coronary artery disease (CAD), end-stage renal disease (ESRD), prior PVI, indication, urgent-status, TransAtlantic interSociety Consensus (TASC) classification and anatomical location of lesion was performed. The perioperative and 1-year outcomes of the matched groups were compared.

RESULTS

EPD was used in 23.3% of atherectomy procedures (N=5,013 / 21,500). The utilization of EPD with atherectomy increased from 8.8% to 22.7% (P=0.003) during the study period. Patients undergoing atherectomy without EPD were more likely to have ESRD (7.8% vs 5.2%; P<0.001), tissue loss (31% vs 23.1; P<0.001), tibial intervention (39.6% vs 23.3%; P<0.001), higher number of arteries treated (1.78 ±0.92 vs 1.68±0.93; P=0.001), and longer length of lesion (21.15±21.14 vs 19±20.27cm; P=0.004). Conversely, patients undergoing atherectomy with EPD were more likely to be white (81.1% vs 74%; P<0.001), have a history of smoking (80.6% vs 74.5%; P<0.001), COPD (24.8% vs 21.6%; P<0.037), CAD (38.5% vs 33.2%; P=0.002), prior PCI (24.3% vs 19.9%, P=0.005), prior CABG (32.3% vs 24.9%; P<0.001), prior PVI (49.2% vs 45.1%; P=0.023). After propensity matching, there were 1,007 patients in each group with no significant difference in baseline characteristics. There was no significant difference in short-term outcomes including rate of distal embolization, technical success, dissection, perforation, discharge to home, and 30-day mortality. The use of EPD was, however, associated with longer fluoroscopy time. At 1-year, there was also no difference in primary patency, ipsilateral minor or major amputation, ABI improvement, reintervention or mortality rate between patients who underwent atherectomy with and without EPD.

CONCLUSION

EPD has been increasingly utilized in conjunction with atherectomy especially in patients with claudication and femoropopliteal disease. However, the use of EPD during atherectomy does not seem to impact the outcomes. Further research is needed to justify the additional cost and fluoroscopy time associated with the use of EPD during atherectomy.

[Atherectomy in Peripheral Artery Disease: Current and Future]

Atherectomy has become a promising treatment option for peripheral artery disease caused by diabetes mellitus or end-stage renal disease. Atherectomy refers to the removal of atheromatous tissue by mechanical method, resulting in an enlarged lumen of the treated blood vessel. Based on this method, the term is limited to the percutaneous minimally invasive approach, and there are currently two types of atherectomy devices available in Korea. The increased prevalence of atherectomy has led to the concept of "vascular preparation" and a new treatment concept of "leave nothing behind." Various studies have proven the safety and effectiveness of atherectomy; however, there are some limitations. We need to remain focused on patient selection and subsequent large-scale research.

Mechanical rotational thrombectomy in long femoropopliteal artery and bypass occlusions: risk factors for periprocedural peripheral embolization

PURPOSE

We aimed to examine lesion characteristics influencing technical outcome and periprocedural peripheral embolization (PPE) during percutaneous mechanical rotational thrombectomy (PMT) of long femoropopliteal artery and bypass occlusions.

METHODS

Retrospectively, 65 consecutive patients (43 male patients, mean age 70±12 years; Rutherford category I-III), undergoing PMT (Rotarex®, Straub Medical AG) with acutely/subacutely occluded femoropopliteal arteries/bypasses were included. Occlusions (mean length, 217±98 mm) were treated by PMT followed by percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) plus drug-coated balloon or PTA plus stenting/stentgrafting. Technical success was defined as residual stenosis <30%. Follow-up included duplex ultrasound and ankle-brachial index (ABI) after 12 months. Endpoints were technical success, complications, improvement of Rutherford category, ABI, and patency (re-stenosis <50%). The influence of lesion length, duration, and thrombus density (measured in preinterventional computed tomography angiography) on technical success and PPE was analyzed.

RESULTS

Technical success was 18% (12/65) after PMT alone, 92% (60/65) after additional means. Four patients (6%) underwent bypass surgery and one patient (2%) amputation. PPE occurred in 11% (7/65). During the 12-month follow-up, three patients (5%) were lost to follow-up. ABI increased from baseline 0.5±0.12 to 0.81±0.14 (p = 0.001) and Rutherford category increased by at least one level in 57 patients at 12-month follow-up (clinical success, 88%). At 12 months, primary patency was 57.4% (95% CI, 45.8%-68.9%) and secondary patency was 75.0% (95% CI, 59.8%-72.3%). As risk factors for PPE, we identified lesion length >200 mm (15%; 6/39; OR 4.5; 95% CI, 0.5-40; p = 0.014) and thrombus density ≤45 HU (20%; 2/10; OR 3.0; 95% CI, 0.2-38.9; p = 0.05). No significant relation between risk factors and technical success was found.

CONCLUSION

PMT followed by PTA or implantation of stent (grafts) appears to be effective and safe for revascularization of acute/subacute long occlusions. Thrombus density <45 HU and lesion length above 20 cm represent risk factors for PPE during PMT.

Rotational atherectomy with adjunctive balloon angioplasty in calcified chronic total occlusions of superficial femoral artery

Objectives

The aim was to report the mid-term outcomes of Jetstream™ rotational atherectomy device in complex femoropopliteal lesions.

Methods

Between November 2016 and April 2018, 55 patients who were treated with rotational atherectomy and adjunctive balloon angioplasty due to complex femoropopliteal lesions were retrospectively scanned.

Results

Fifty-five patients who underwent endovascular treatment with rotational atherectomy for chronic total occlusive femoropopliteal lesions were included in the study. Technical success rate was 100%. The mean age was 63 (±10.5) years. The cohort included 25 (45.4%) diabetics and 45 (81.8%) current smokers. The mean length of the lesions was 20.8 ± 11.2 cm. Chronic total occlusive lesions were detected in 35 (63.6%) patients, and mixed-type steno-occlusive lesions were detected in 20 patients (36.4%). Thirty-three (60%) lesions were moderate or severely calcified. Adjunctive balloon angioplasty was performed with plain old balloon angioplasty (POBA) on 31 (56.4%) patients and with drug-coated balloon angioplasty on 24 (43.6%) patients. After adjunctive balloon angioplasty, flow limiting dissection was observed in 20 (36.3%) patients, and 17 (30.9%) patients needed stent implantation. The Kaplan–Meier analysis method estimated that the overall primary patency rates at 12 and 24 months were 81.8% and 70.9%, respectively. Overall, secondary patency rates at 12 and 24 months were 94.5% and 80%. No statistically significant differences of 24-month primary patency and secondary patency rates were found between patients treated with drug-coated balloon angioplasty and POBA as an adjunctive therapy, even though primary patency (83.3% vs. 61.3%, p = .06) and secondary patency (91.7% vs. 71%, p = .56) rates of drug-coated balloon angioplasty were slightly higher than POBA. Patients with claudication had better primary patency (90.5% vs. 58.8%, p = .001) and secondary patency (100% vs. 67.6%, p = .004) rates than patients with critical limb ischemia at 24 months. Significant differences between patients who did and did not stop smoking were found in 24-month primary patency (57% vs. 88%, p = .007) and secondary patency (67% vs. 96%, p = .007). Six patients underwent unplanned amputation. There were eight (14.5%) mortalities during follow-up.

Conclusions

Rotational atherectomy with adjunctive balloon angioplasty has satisfactory technical success rates and mid-term outcomes. As an adjunctive method, there was no difference between drug-coated balloon angioplasty s and POBAs. Smoking cessation is always the first-step treatment to improve mid-term patency results. Patients with critical limb ischemia have worse patency results compared to the patients with claudication.

The Role of Atherectomy in Peripheral Artery Disease: Current Evidence and Future Perspectives

An ageing population and the increasing prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors have aggravated the burden of peripheral artery disease (PAD). Despite advances in the pharmacological treatment of atherosclerosis, many patients with symptomatic PAD require invasive procedures to reduce the symptoms of claudication, salvage tissue and prevent amputation and subsequent disability in those with critical limb ischaemia. After significant advances in endovascular treatment over the past two decades, these techniques are widely accepted as first-choice treatment in the majority of patients with PAD. However, in patients with severely calcified lesions, standard endovascular treatment such as plain or drug-coated balloon (DCB) angioplasty may fail due to vessel recoil or severe dissection in the acute setting, and intimal hyperplasia in the long term. With the use of percutaneous plaque modification and debulking techniques based on atherectomy, such calcified lesions can be tackled more easily after removal or fragmentation of atherosclerotic plaque. More homogeneous balloon expansion at lower pressures can be achieved after atherectomy, which reduces barotrauma while allowing better drug delivery to the vessel wall during DCB angioplasty avoids the need for stent placement. There are four principal methods of direct atherectomy available at the present time: directional atherectomy, rotational atherectomy, orbital atherectomy and hybrid atherectomy. In this article, we provide a short overview of these techniques and the current evidence from clinical trials to support their use.

WIRION EPS Filter with Jetstream Atherectomy of Femoropopliteal Arterial Disease: A Single Center Experience

BACKGROUND

The WIRION EPS filter was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be used in conjunction with all atherectomy devices when treating infrainguinal peripheral arterial disease. The safety of this filter with Jetstream atherectomy (JA) in a real world setting remains unclear.

METHODS

Consecutive patients from the practice of one operator who underwent JA under WIRION EPS when treating femoropopliteal arteries were enrolled in this retrospective analysis. The primary safety endpoint was the ability of the filter to capture macrodebris with no dissection or thrombosis at the filter site and no filter-related major adverse events. Descriptive analysis on demographics, clinical, procedural and angiographic variables was done using mean ± SD for continuous variables and percentages for categorical variables.

RESULTS

37 patients were enrolled in this study between June 2016 and September of 2018 (64.9% males, age 68.7 ± 9.0, BMI 27.7 ± 5.4). TASC II classification of the treated lesions were 51.4% B, 24.3% A, 21.6% C, and 2.7% D. At the filter site, spasm occurred in 1/37 (2.7%), while dissection did not occur (0%). Embolization within the filter was found in 51.4% of patients: 14/37 (37.8%) macro debris and 5/35 (13.5%) micro debris. Clinically significant embolization distal to the filter that required treatment with more than a simple aspiration was 1/37 (2.7%).

CONCLUSION

WIRION EPS filter use with Jetstream atherectomy was safe and was associated with a low rate of significant distal embolization that required more than a simple aspiration to treat.

Emerging and Future Therapeutic Options for Femoropopliteal and Infrapopliteal Endovascular Intervention

Despite recent advances in endovascular therapy for peripheral artery disease, current technologies remain limited by rates of long-term restenosis and application to complex lesion subsets. This article presents data on upcoming therapies, including novel drug-coated balloons, drug-eluting stents, bioresorbable scaffolds, novel drug delivery therapies to target arteries, techniques to limit postangioplasty dissection, and treatment of severely calcified lesions.

Contemporary Outcomes of Endovascular Intervention for Critical Limb Ischemia

Critical limb ischemia (CLI) remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with peripheral arterial disease. Optimal treatment strategies for CLI remain controversial. The only randomized trial comparing surgical with endovascular revascularization suggests no significant difference in limb salvage between open surgical bypass and angioplasty. Although novel endovascular strategies are now available, their efficacies remain largely untested in a randomized fashion. This review provides an overview of the data surrounding contemporary outcomes of endovascular therapy with an emphasis on current knowledge gaps.

Rotarex Mechanical Debulking in Acute and Subacute Arterial Lesions

Introduction:

Data regarding the effectiveness and safety of percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy (PMT) in contemporary routine care are scarce.

Materials and Methods:

Consecutive patients undergoing PMT of native lower limb acutely/subacutely occluded arteries were included.

Results:

In all, 525 consecutive patients were available for analysis with a mean age of 66.7 ± 10.7 years. Almost two-third (n = 324; 61.7%) were men with acutely (n = 211; 40.2%) or subacutely (n = 314; 59.8%) occluded lesions presenting mostly in Rutherford-Becker category (RBC): 3 (30.3%) and 4 (47.6%). Mean lesion length was 159 mm (range 22-279 mm), with moderate and severe calcification in 119 (23.3%) lesions. PMT was performed solely in 161(27.2%), PMT + balloon angioplasty in 232 (39.1%), provisional stenting in 169 (28.4%), and thrombolysis in 77 (13.9%) interventions. Procedural technical success rate was 97.7%, with improvement in RBC persisting in 74.1% of patients after 12 ± 2.4 months mean time follow-up. Overall 30 days major adverse events (MAEs) was 6.9% with a mortality rate of 1.1%. No death was directly related to the device. After 12 months, a promising overall target lesion revascularization (TLR; 10.1%), non-TLR (6.6%), and major amputation rates (2.3%) were found. One-year mortality was 8%.

Conclusion:

Treatment with PMT resulted in clinic and hemodynamic improvement in the majority of patients, thereby reducing the need for thrombolysis in a significant proportion of patients. Prospective studies in this issue are recommended.

The role of atherectomy in the treatment of lower extremity peripheral artery disease

Background

The incidence of lower extremity peripheral artery disease (LE-PAD) continues to increase and associated morbidity remains high. Despite the significant development of percutaneous revascularization strategies, over the past decade, LE-PAD still represents a unique challenge for interventional cardiologists and vascular surgeons.

Method

Typical features of atherosclerosis that affects peripheral vascular bed (diffuse nature, poor distal runoff, critical limb ischemia, chronic total occlusion) contribute to the disappointing results of traditional percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA). New technologies have been developed in attempt to improve the safety and effectiveness of percutaneous revascularization. Among these, atherectomy, debulking and removing atherosclerotic plaque, offers the potential advantage of eliminating stretch on arterial walls and reducing rates of restenosis.

Conclusions

This review summarizes the features and the current applications of new debulking devices.