The Academic Research Consortium (ARC)-2 initiative revisited the clinical and angiographic end point definitions in coronary device trials, proposed in 2007, to make them more suitable for use in ...clinical trials that include increasingly complex lesion and patient populations and incorporate novel devices such as bioresorbable vascular scaffolds. In addition, recommendations for the incorporation of patient-related outcomes in clinical trials are proposed. Academic Research Consortium-2 is a collaborative effort between academic research organizations in the United States and Europe, device manufacturers, and European, US, and Asian regulatory bodies. Several in-person meetings were held to discuss the changes that have occurred in the device landscape and in clinical trials and regulatory pathways in the last decade. The consensus-based end point definitions in this document are endorsed by the stakeholders of this document and strongly advocated for clinical trial purposes. This Academic Research Consortium-2 document provides further standardization of end point definitions for coronary device trials, incorporating advances in technology and knowledge. Their use will aid interpretation of trial outcomes and comparison among studies, thus facilitating the evaluation of the safety and effectiveness of these devices.
Abstract
The Academic Research Consortium (ARC)-2 initiative revisited the clinical and angiographic end point definitions in coronary device trials, proposed in 2007, to make them more suitable for ...use in clinical trials that include increasingly complex lesion and patient populations and incorporate novel devices such as bioresorbable vascular scaffolds. In addition, recommendations for the incorporation of patient-related outcomes in clinical trials are proposed. Academic Research Consortium-2 is a collaborative effort between academic research organizations in the United States and Europe, device manufacturers, and European, US, and Asian regulatory bodies. Several in-person meetings were held to discuss the changes that have occurred in the device landscape and in clinical trials and regulatory pathways in the last decade. The consensus-based end point definitions in this document are endorsed by the stakeholders of this document and strongly advocated for clinical trial purposes. This Academic Research Consortium-2 document provides further standardization of end point definitions for coronary device trials, incorporating advances in technology and knowledge. Their use will aid interpretation of trial outcomes and comparison among studies, thus facilitating the evaluation of the safety and effectiveness of these devices.
This publication describes uniform definitions for cardiovascular and stroke outcomes developed by the Standardized Data Collection for Cardiovascular Trials Initiative and the U.S. Food and Drug ...Administration (FDA). The FDA established the Standardized Data Collection for Cardiovascular Trials Initiative in 2009 to simplify the design and conduct of clinical trials intended to support marketing applications. The writing committee recognizes that these definitions may be used in other types of clinical trials and clinical care processes where appropriate. Use of these definitions at the FDA has enhanced the ability to aggregate data within and across medical product development programs, conduct meta-analyses to evaluate cardiovascular safety, integrate data from multiple trials, and compare effectiveness of drugs and devices. Further study is needed to determine whether prospective data collection using these common definitions improves the design, conduct, and interpretability of the results of clinical trials.
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Pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) are complex medical devices proven to reduce mortality in specific high-risk patient populations. It is not known if increasing device ...complexity is associated with decreased reliability.
To analyze postapproval annual reports submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by manufacturers of pacemakers and ICDs to determine the reported number and rate of pacemaker and ICD malfunctions and to assess trends in device performance.
Pacemaker and ICD annual reports submitted to the FDA for the years 1990-2002 were reviewed. A pacemaker or ICD generator was defined as having malfunctioned if it was explanted due to an observed malfunction, returned to the manufacturer, and confirmed by the manufacturer to be functioning inappropriately. Leads and biventricular devices were not included in the study. Deaths were attributed to device malfunction only if they were witnessed, the malfunction immediately led to the death, and the malfunction was confirmed by the manufacturer.
Number of implanted pacemaker and ICD generators; number of reported malfunctions; and annual malfunction replacement rates. Generator malfunction replacement rates were defined as the annual number of replacements due to confirmed malfunction divided by the annual number of implants.
During the study period, 2.25 million pacemakers and 415,780 ICDs were implanted in the United States. Overall, 17,323 devices (8834 pacemakers and 8489 ICDs) were explanted due to confirmed malfunction. Battery/capacitor abnormalities (4085 malfunctions 23.6%) and electrical issues (4708 malfunctions 27.1%) accounted for half of the total device failures. The annual pacemaker malfunction replacement rate per 1000 implants decreased significantly during the study, from a peak of 9.0 in 1993 to a low of 1.4 in 2002 (P = .006 for trend). In contrast, the ICD malfunction replacement rate per 1000 implants, after decreasing from 38.6 in 1993 to 7.9 in 1996, increased markedly during the latter half of the study, peaking in 2001 at 36.4 (P = .04 for trend). More than half of the reported ICD malfunctions occurred in the last 3 years of the study. Overall, the annual ICD malfunction replacement rate was significantly higher than the pacemaker malfunction replacement rate (mean SD, 20.7 11.6 vs 4.6 2.2 replacements per 1000 implants; P<.001; rate ratio, 5.9 95% confidence interval, 2.7-9.1). Sixty-one deaths (30 pacemaker patients, 31 ICD patients) were attributable to device malfunction.
This study demonstrates that thousands of patients have been affected by pacemaker and ICD malfunctions, the pacemaker malfunction replacement rate has decreased, the ICD malfunction replacement rate increased during the latter half of the study, and the ICD malfunction replacement rate is significantly higher than that for pacemakers. Although pacemakers and ICDs are important life-sustaining devices that have saved many lives, careful monitoring of device performance is still required.
The development of technology to treat unmet clinical patient needs in the United States has been an important focus for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the 2016 Congressional 21st Century ...Cures Act. In response, a program of early feasibility studies (EFS) has been developed. One of the important issues has been the outmigration of the development and testing of medical devices from the United States. The EFS committee has developed and implemented processes to address issues to develop strategies for early treatment of these patient groups. Initial implementation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration EFS program has been successful, but residual significant problems have hindered the opportunity to take full advantage of the program. These include delays in gaining Institutional Review Board approval, timeliness of budget and contractual negotiations, and lack of access to and enrollment of study subjects. This paper reviews improvements that have been made to the U.S. EFS ecosystem and outlines potential approaches to address remaining impediments to program success.
FDA approval to initiate a clinical study of an investigational device also depends on meeting the requirements for nonclinical testing that are relevant to the anatomically and hemodynamically ...challenging mitral environment. ...it is extremely important that sponsors understand the FDA's nonclinical testing expectations as early as possible to make efficient use of time and resources. ...the consensus report represents an important step in a dynamic process, and the Agency looks forward to continued involvement with MVARC as the technology and clinical application of transcatheter mitral replacement and repair devices evolve.
Heart valve diseases are increasingly prevalent, especially in people older than age seventy. Many of these elderly people have other comorbid conditions, making them poor candidates for surgical ...treatment of heart valve diseases. Since 2011 such patients have been eligible to receive new nonsurgical heart valve treatments approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and covered by Medicare. This article examines the Transcatheter Valve Therapy Registry, which captures clinical information on all US patients undergoing new nonsurgical heart valve treatments. The registry has patient-level data from more than 27,000 patients treated with the novel devices. Patient- and procedure-related data are gathered from hospitals, patient-reported outcomes are assessed pre- and postprocedure, and longer-term data on mortality and repeat hospitalization are provided by linking the registry's data to Medicare patient data. The registry is a model of collaboration among professional societies, the FDA, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, hospitals, patients, and the medical device industry. It has been used to support Medicare coverage decisions, expand device indications, provide comprehensive device surveillance, and establish national quality benchmarks. Beyond having it serve as a collaborative model, future goals for the registry include shortening the FDA-approval timeline for devices, providing data for decision-making tools for patients, and public reporting of hospital performance.
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