Reducer, extracorporeal shockwave therapy or stem cells in refractory angina: a retrospective study

Effect of cardiac shock wave therapy plus optimal medical therapy on rehospitalization in patients with severe coronary artery disease: A meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis

OBJECTIVE

Several small sample-sized clinical studies have demonstrated that cardiac shock wave therapy (CSWT) might reduce the risk of rehospitalization in patients with severe coronary artery disease (CAD). However, other observational studies did not reported that clinical benefit of CSWT. Therefore, the effect of CSWT plus optimal medical therapy (OMT) on rehospitalization is still controversial.

METHODS

We performed an updated meta-analysis and systematic review of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and prospective cohort studies identified in systematic searches of Pubmed, Embase, the Cochrane library, the ClinicalTrials.gov website and Chinese SinoMed Database (up to December 2021). Primary endpoint was the rate of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs, the composite outcome of mortality, coronary artery revascularization, and rehospitalization). Meta-regression and subgroup analyses were used to identify possible contributors to between-study variances in the HDRS. Required information size (RIS) was calculated with trial sequential analysis (TSA).

RESULTS

A total of 11 RCTs and 5 prospective cohort studies involving 1,149 patients with a mean follow-up of 10.3 months (range 3-72) months were included. Overall, CSWT plus OMT significantly decreased the rate of MACEs compared with the OMT group (RR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.29-0.53), which was mainly attributed to markedly lower risk of rehospitalization (RR, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.27-0.51). Subgroup analysis showed that the pooled RRs for MACEs was significantly lower in studies enrolling patients with higher baseline Canadian Cardiovascular Society angina class (≥2.2) (RR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.26-0.50) or studies with short follow-up period (followed ≤ 6 months, RR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.24-0.64; followed 7-12 months, RR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.26-0.54) or studies with HF with reduced ejection fraction (RR, 0.31; 95% CI, 0.13-0.72) or with preserved ejection fraction (RR, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.29-0.56). TSA showed that The RIS for MACE was 935, and the accrued information size was 577.

CONCLUSION

Cardiac shock wave therapy plus OMT could decrease the rate of rehospitalization among patients with severe CAD. However, this result must be interpreted with caution, for the evidence supporting the use of CSWT for severe CAD is limited by the small sample size and short follow-up period of previous studies. Larger RCTs with longer follow-up are warranted to confirm these findings.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

[https://inplasy.com/], identifier [INPLASY202210103].

The Effectiveness of CS Reducer for the treatment of Refractory Angina - a Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Refractory angina is a debilitating condition that affects quality of life of patients worldwide, that after exhausting standard available therapies are regarded as "no option" patients. Recently, coronary sinus (CS) Reducer implantation became available and is gaining popularity in the treatment of refractory angina. The effectiveness of this therapy was demonstrated in one randomized sham-control trial and numerous uncontrolled prospective studies entailing altogether several hundred patients. We performed a meta-analysis to incorporate the data and elucidate its efficacy and safety.

METHODS

A meta-analysis of prospective studies assessing the effects of CS narrowing published in English until June 2021 was performed. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients improving ≥1 class in the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CSS) angina score. Other endpoints included proportion of patients improving ≥2 CCS classes, procedural success, periprocedural complications, changes in Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ) scores, and six-minute walk test (6MWT).

RESULTS

Data from 9 studies, including 846 patients was included. An improvement of ≥1 CSS class occurred in 76% [95% CI 73%- 80%] of patients. Improvement of ≥2 CSS classes was observed in 40% of patients (95% CI of 35-46%). Procedure success was 98%, with no major and 3% of non-major periprocedural complications. Post procedural SAQ scores and 6MWT distance were significantly improved.

CONCLUSIONS

In patients suffering from angina refractory to medical and interventional therapies, CS narrowing implantation improves symptoms and quality of life, with a low complication rate. These results are consistent in one randomized trial and in multiple prospective, uncontrolled studies.

Son of a Lesser God: The Case of Cell Therapy for Refractory Angina

In the last decades, various non-pharmacological solutions have been tested on top of medical therapy for the treatment of patients affected by refractory angina (RA). Among these therapeutics, neuromodulation, external counter-pulsation and coronary sinus constriction have been recently introduced in the guidelines for the management of RA in United States and Europe. Notably and paradoxically, although a consistent body of evidence has proposed cell-based therapies (CT) as safe and salutary for RA outcome, CT has not been conversely incorporated into current international guidelines yet. As a matter of fact, published randomized controlled trials (RCT) and meta-analyses (MTA) cumulatively indicated that CT can effectively increase perfusion, physical function and well-being, thus reducing angina symptoms and drug assumption in RA patients. In this review, we (i) provide an updated overview of novel non-pharmacological therapeutics included in current guidelines for the management of patients with RA, (ii) discuss the Level of Evidence stemmed from available clinical trials for each recommended treatment, and (iii) focus on evidence-based CT application for the management of RA.