Data on transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) for severe bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) stenosis and how this compares to that for tricuspid aortic valve (TAV) stenosis are limited. Twenty-one ...consecutive patients with BAV were treated with the Edwards or CoreValve bioprosthesis from November 2007 to December 2012 at San Raffaele Scientific Institute and Clinical Institute S. Ambrogio, Milan, Italy. Results were compared with a cohort of patients with TAV (n = 447) treated with the same bioprostheses over the same period. Procedural 1- and 12-month outcomes were examined as defined by the Valve Academic Research Consortium criteria. Patients with BAV were younger (76.7 ± 7.1 vs 79.8 ± 7.4 years, p = 0.06) and with a larger aortic annulus (25.0 ± 1.8 vs 23.6 ± 2.1 mm, p = 0.01). Device success (85.7% vs 94.4%, p = 0.10) was lower in patients with BAV. Although the 30-day composite safety end point (23.8% vs 21.0%, p = 0.76) was similar between the 2 groups, mortality rate at 30 days was higher (14.2% vs 3.6%, p = 0.02) in the BAV group. Cardiovascular mortality at 1 year did not differ significantly between the 2 groups (10.5% vs 7.4%, p = 0.62). In conclusion, transcatheter aortic valve implantation in high surgical risk patients with severe BAV stenosis appears to be feasible with mid-term cardiovascular mortality similar to that for patients with TAV. Early survival and device success, however, were lower for patients with BAV demonstrating that further studies are required to identify which subset of patients with BAV is best suited for transcatheter treatment.
Objectives This study sought to investigate the role of drug-eluting balloons (DEB) alone or in combination with drug-eluting stents (DES) in the treatment of diffuse de novo coronary artery disease ...(CAD) (>25 mm). Background The use of DEB in diffuse CAD, either alone or in combination with DES, offers an alternative to stenting alone. Data regarding DEB in this context are limited. Methods We retrospectively evaluated all patients treated with DEB for diffuse CAD between June 2009 and October 2012. Endpoints analyzed were major adverse cardiac events, defined as all-cause death, myocardial infarction, and target vessel revascularization (TVR), as well as TVR and target lesion revascularization separately. Results were compared with those obtained from a cohort of patients with similar characteristics treated with DES alone. Results A total of 69 patients (93 lesions) were treated with DEB ± DES, and 93 patients with DES alone (93 lesions). A high proportion of patients were diabetic (46.4% vs. 44.1%, p = 0.77). Of the DEB-treated lesions, 56.0% were treated with DEB alone, 7.4% with DEB and DES as bail out, and 36.6% with DES and DEB as part of a hybrid approach for very long disease. Outcome rates with DEB ± DES were comparable to those with DES alone at 2-year follow-up (major adverse cardiac events = 20.8% vs. 22.7%, p = 0.74; TVR = 14.8% vs. 11.5%, p = 0.44; target lesion revascularization = 9.6% vs. 9.3%, p = 0.84). Conclusions DEB may have a role in the treatment of diffuse de novo CAD, either alone in smaller vessels or in combination with DES in very long disease.
Saphenous vein grafts (SVGs) are prone to an aggressive atherosclerotic process, and the efficacy of drug-eluting stents (DES) in treating this is still debated. In recent years, second-generation ...DES have been increasingly used in SVG intervention. The main objective of this study was to compare midterm clinical outcomes between first- and second-generation DES in SVGs because data regarding the use of second-generation DES in SVG are lacking. Patients treated with first-generation DES (127 patients with 143 lesions) and those treated with second-generation DES (84 patients with 100 lesions) were included in the study. Major adverse cardiac events, defined as the composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction, and target vessel revascularization, as well as target vessel revascularization and target lesion revascularization separately, were evaluated at 30-day, 12-month, and 18-month follow-up. Baseline characteristics were similar between the 2 groups. Older grafts were treated with second-generation DES (11.6 ± 5.3 vs 14.3 ± 6.0 years, p = 0.001). Stent length was longer in the first-generation group (34.1 ± 25.1 vs 30.5 ± 19.4 mm, p = 0.006), and maximum balloon diameter was smaller in the second-generation group (3.42 ± 0.42 vs 3.30 ± 0.41 mm, p = 0.003). Embolic protection device use was higher in the second-generation DES group (55.2% vs 72.0%, p = 0.012). At 18-month follow-up, rates of major adverse cardiac events, target vessel revascularization, and target lesion revascularization for the first- and second-generation groups were 24.4% versus 20.2% (p = 0.479), 18.1% versus 14.2% (p = 0.465), and 15.0% versus 10.7% (p = 0.373), respectively. In conclusion, second-generation DES are at least comparable with first-generation DES with regard to clinical outcomes at midterm follow-up.
Identified sources of bacteremia were iatrogenic (n = 3), recurrent bacteremia from systemic infections (n = 2), and systemic diseases (n = 4) (Osler-Weber-Rendu disease, colon cancer, advanced liver ...cirrhosis with previous IE, and advanced liver cirrhosis with drug-induced immune suppression). ...despite timely and aggressive management, TAVR-PIE is associated with a very high mortality.
Abstract Background Treatment times for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) frequently exceed the recommended maximum delay. Automated “physician-less” systems of pre-hospital ...catheterization laboratory (CCL) show promise, but have been met with resistance over concerns regarding the potential for false positive and inappropriate activations. Methods and Results From 2010 to 2015, first responders performed ECGs in the field for all patients with a complaint of chest pain or dyspnea. An automated machine diagnosis of “Acute myocardial infarction (MI)” resulted in immediate CCL activation and direct transfer without transmission or human reinterpretation of the ECG prior to patient arrival. Any activation resulting from a non-diagnostic ECG (No ST-elevation) was deemed inappropriate (IA; inappropriate activation), whereas activations resulting from ECGs compatible with STEMI but without angiographic evidence of a coronary event were deemed false positive (FP). Supraventricular tachycardia was identified as an independent predictor of IA, prompting modification of the automated referral algorithm. 313 activations are included in the second cohort from 2012-2015. Algorithm modification resulted in a 42% relative decrease in the rate of inappropriate activation (12% vs. 7%, p<0.01) without a significant effect on treatment delay. Conclusion A combination of pre-hospital automated STEMI diagnosis and “physician-less” CCL activation is safe and effective in improving treatment delay and these results are sustainable over time. The performance of the referral algorithm in terms of IA and FP is at least on par with systems that ensure real-time human oversight.
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