Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. Thoraco-abdominal aneurysms (TAAA) are a real challenge for surgeons. So far, endovascular repair have rendered good results in these aneurysms, but branch occlusion continues to be their Achilles’ heel”. 449 patients were analyzed, 235 (52%) were treated with branched devices (BEVAR) and 214 (48%) with fenestrated devices (FEVAR).…
Prevention of Stroke: Carotid Artery Stenting or Endarterectomy?
Original Title: Long-Term Outcome after Carotid Artery Stenting. A Population-Based Matched Cohort Study. Reference: Stroke. 2016 Jul 12. [Epub ahead of print]. In the prevention of stroke, carotid artery stenting (CAS) is far less invasive than endarterectomy, but its long term outcomes remain unclear. This large cohort study compared the long term outcomes of…
Predictors of Restenosis and Stroke Following Carotid PCI
Original Title: Predictors of Restenosis Following Carotid Angioplasty and Stenting. Reference: Elena Zapata-Arriaza et al. Stroke. 2016 Jun 21. Epub ahead of print. Restenosis after carotid PCI is associated to an increase of stroke and death risk. The purpose of this study was to determine the risk and predicting factors associated to carotid restenosis…
DEB, the Best Option to Treat Superficial Femoral ISR
Original Title: Paclitaxel-eluting balloon versus standard balloon angioplasty in in-stent restenosis of the superficial femoral and proximal popliteal artery: 1-year results of the PACUBA trial. Reference: Kinstner CM et al. J Am Coll Cardiol Intv. 2016;9:1386-1392. Patients with symptomatic femoropopliteal in-stent restenosis (ISR) have better patency at one year if treated with drug eluting…
Does Ticagrelor Reduce Events in Peripheral Artery Disease?
Original Title: Ticagrelor for Prevention of Ischemic Events after Myocardial Infarction in Patients with Peripheral Artery Disease. Reference: Marc P. Bonaca et al. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2016 Jun 14;67(23):2719-28. Peripheral artery disease is associated with high rates of ischemic and bleeding events in patients with prior myocardial infarction. This study evaluates the safety…
BVS: Safe Also in Peripheral Territory
Original Title: Bioresorbable Everolimus-Eluting Vascular Scaffold for Patients With Peripheral Artery Disease (ESPRIT I) 2-Year Clinical and Imaging Results CME. Reference: Johannes Lammer et al. J Am Coll Cardiol Intv. 2016;9(11):1178-1187. This is the first study on humans to assess the bioresorbable everolimus eluting vascular scaffold for the treatment of peripheral artery disease involving…
Zilver PTX: Maintains efficacy in real life most challenging lesions?
Original Title: Zilver PTX Post-Market Surveillance Study of Paclitaxel-Eluting Stents for Treating Femoropopliteal Artery Disease in Japan 12-Month Results. Reference: Hiroyoshi Yokoi et al. J Am Coll Cardiol Intv. 2016;9(3):271-277. This multicenter prospective study carried out in Japan assessed the paclitaxel eluting stent Zilver PTX in an unselected real world population very different to…
Drug coated balloons: Superior in infrapopliteal territory?
Original Title: Drug-Coated Balloons for Revascularization of Infrapopliteal Arteries. A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials. Reference: Salvatore Cassese et al. J Am Coll Cardiol Intv. 2016. Online before print. The aim of this study was to perform a meta-analyzis of the most relevant randomized trials on the use of drug coated balloons (DCBs) in…
Occupational Hazzard in the Cath Lab
Original Title: Occupational Health Risks in Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory Workers. Reference: Maria Grazia Andreassi et al. Circ Cardiovasc Interv. 2016 Apr;9(4). Orthopedic lesions and radiation exposure are among the health risks Cath Lab staff take. However, the potential occupational hazard in quantitative terms is still unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine the…
Drug-Coated Balloons in Complex Superficial Femoral Artery Lesions
Original Title: Drug-Coated Balloons for Complex Femoropopliteal Lesions2-Year Results of a Real-World Registry. Reference: Andrej Schmidt et al. J Am CollCardiolIntv. 2016;9(7):715-724. The superiority of drug coated balloons compared to conventional balloons in femoropopliteal lesions have been shown by randomized studies, but only in short and simple lesions. The efficacy of drug coated balloons…
Mortality Reduction with Vena Cava Filters
Original Title: Outcomes after Vena Cava Filter Use in Non-Cancer Patients with Acute Venous Thromboembolism: A Population-Based Study. Reference: Richard H. White et al. Circulation. 2016 Apr 5. Epub ahead of print. The evidence on the benefits of vena cava filters is limited. This retrospective study analyzed all patients with baseline oncological processes admitted to…