Safety of hydrophilic guidewires used for side-branch protection during stenting and proximal optimization technique in coronary bifurcation lesions

Superhydrophilic and Antifriction Thin Hydrogel Formed under Mild Conditions for Medical Bare Metal Guide Wires

Medical guide wires play a crucial role in the process of intravascular interventional therapy. However, it is essential for bare metal guide wires to possess both hydrophilic lubricity and coating durability, avoiding tissue damage caused by friction inside the blood vessel during the interventional procedure. Additionally, it is still a huge challenge for diverse metal materials to bind with polymer coatings easily. Herein, we present a hydrogel coating scheme and its preparation method for various wires under mild conditions for environmental protection purposes. The preparation process involves surface pretreatment, including low-temperature heating and silanization, followed by a two-step dip coating and ultraviolet polymerization. The whole process leads to the formation of an interpenetrating cross-linked hydrogel network from the substrate to the surface section. This study confirms the superhydrophilicity and lubricity of three metal wires with the designed coating, especially reducing the friction significantly by ≥ 95%. The thin coating (average thickness <6.2 μm) demonstrates strong adhesion with various substrates and exhibits resistance to 25 or even 125 cycles of friction, indicating excellent stability and preventing easy detachment. The finally prepared composite nickel-titanium (NiTi) guide wire with stainless steel (SS) and platinum-tungsten (Pt-W) coils (overall diameter of ∼0.36 mm) shows satisfactory performance with a friction of 0.183 N for 25 cycles, meeting the clinical requirements (average friction ≤0.2 N) for interventional operation. These findings highlight the potential of this study in advancing the development of medical devices, particularly in the field of intravascular interventional therapy.

Percutaneous coronary intervention of bifurcation lesions

Bifurcation coronary artery disease is common as the development of atherosclerosis is facilitated by altered endothelial shear stress. Multiple anatomical and physiological factors need to be considered when treating bifurcation lesions. To achieve optimal results, various stenting techniques have been developed, each with benefits and limitations. In this state-of-the-art review we describe technically important characteristics of bifurcation lesions and summarise the evidence supporting contemporary bifurcation techniques.

Fundamentals of percutaneous coronary bifurcation interventions

Coronary bifurcation lesions (CBLs) account for 15%-20% of all percutaneous coronary interventions. The complex nature of these lesions is responsible for poorer procedural, early and late outcomes. This complex lesion subset has received great attention in the interventional cardiac community, and multiple stenting techniques have been developed. Of these, the provisional stenting technique is most often the default strategy; however, the elective double stenting (EDS) technique is preferred in certain subsets of complex CBLs. The double kissing crush technique may be the preferred EDS technique because of its efficacy and safety in comparative trials; however, this technique consists of many steps and requires training. Many new methods have recently been added to the EDS techniques to provide better stent scaffolding and to reduce early and late adverse outcomes. Intravascular imaging is necessary to determine the interventional strategy and postinterventional results. This review discusses the basic concepts, contemporary percutaneous interventional technical approaches, new methods, and controversial treatment issues of CBLs.

Jailing polymer jacketed guide-wires during bifurcation coronary interventions is associated with procedural myocardial infarction

AIM

To study the relationship of jailed polymer jacketed guide wires (PGW) with procedural myocardial infarction (PMI) after bifurcation coronary interventions.

METHODS

Consecutive bifurcation interventions performed from January 2010 to October 2014 were included in the study. Chart review was performed to obtain demographic, clinical and procedural data. PMI was defined as Creatine Kinase MB > 3 × upper reference limit of normal. Multivariate logistic regression was used to ascertain relationship of PGW use with PMI.

RESULTS

Two hundred and ninety-three patients (age 63.5 ± 12.3 years; 33.8% diabetic) were included in the study. Eighty point two percent (n = 235) were true bifurcation lesions use of PGW was associated with PMI on univariate analysis (OR = 4.1; P = 0.002). This association remained significant after adjusting for other possible risk factors (OR = 3.5; P = 0.02).

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that PGW use for side branch protection may be associated with PMI. Randomized studies are needed to validate these findings.