Real-World Application of Evolocumab Among Patients with Hyperlipidemia in Korea: A Multicenter Prospective Study.

Introduction: Elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is a major residual risk factor among patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). In the absence of sufficient real-world evidence, this observational (noninterventional) study investigated the effectiveness and safety of evolocumab in patients with hyperlipidemia treated with evolocumab for ACS in a real-world clinical setting in Korea.

Methods: Between January 2022 and February 2023, patients from 10 hospitals in Korea who initiated evolocumab within 24 weeks of an ACS event were enrolled.

Aspirin Monotherapy vs No Antiplatelet Therapy in Stable Patients With Coronary Stents Undergoing Low-to-Intermediate Risk Noncardiac Surgery.

Background: Current guidelines recommend the perioperative continuation of aspirin in patients with coronary drug-eluting stents (DES) undergoing noncardiac surgery. However, supporting evidence is limited.

Objectives: This study aimed to compare continuing aspirin monotherapy vs temporarily holding all antiplatelet therapy before noncardiac surgery in patients with previous DES implantation.

Handheld 6-Lead ECG for Early Detection of Acute Inferior Wall ST-T Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction: HINT-MI Study Design and Rationale.

: ST-T segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is a critical condition that requires rapid diagnosis and treatment. Recently, various ECG recording devices have been developed. In this study, we aim to determine the utility of a 6-lead handheld ECG recording device to shorten the time taken for the diagnosis of inferior wall STEMI.

Combination therapy with moderate-intensity atorvastatin and ezetimibe versus high-intensity atorvastatin monotherapy in patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention in practice: assessing RACING generalizability.

Aims: Using rosuvastatin, the RACING (randomized comparison of efficacy and safety of lipid-lowering with statin monotherapy versus statin/ezetimibe combination for high-risk cardiovascular diseases) trial showed the beneficial effects of combining moderate-intensity statin with ezetimibe compared with high-intensity statin monotherapy in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. This study investigated whether the beneficial effects of combination lipid-lowering therapy extend to patients treated with atorvastatin, not rosuvastatin, in daily clinical practice.

Methods And Results: Using stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighting, a total of 31 993 patients who were prescribed atorvastatin after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation were identified from a nationwide cohort database: 6 215 patients with atorvastatin 20 mg plus ezetimibe 10 mg (combination lipid-lowering therapy) and 25 778 patients with atorvastatin 40-80 mg monotherapy.

Combination Lipid-Lowering Therapy in Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Background: The RACING (randomized comparison of efficacy and safety of lipid-lowering with statin monotherapy versus statin/ezetimibe combination for high-risk cardiovascular diseases) trial examined the effects of combination therapy with moderate-intensity statin and ezetimibe in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease compared with high-intensity statin monotherapy.

Objectives: This observational study was conducted to evaluate the impact of 2 treatment strategies used in the RACING trial in clinical practice.

Methods: After stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighting, a total of 72,050 patients who were prescribed rosuvastatin after drug-eluting stent implantation were identified from a nationwide cohort database: 10,794 patients with rosuvastatin 10 mg plus ezetimibe 10 mg (combination lipid-lowering therapy) and 61,256 patients with rosuvastatin 20 mg monotherapy.

Perioperative Antiplatelet Strategy in Patients Undergoing Noncardiac Surgery Within One Year After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Background: The optimal antiplatelet therapy (APT) for patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery within 1 year after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is not yet established.

Methods: Patients who underwent non-cardiac surgery within 1 year after second-generation drug-eluting stent implantation were included from a multicenter prospective registry in Korea. The primary endpoint was 30-day net adverse clinical event (NACE), including all-cause death, major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE), and major bleeding events.

Dapagliflozin attenuates diabetes-induced diastolic dysfunction and cardiac fibrosis by regulating SGK1 signaling.

Background: Recent studies have reported improved diastolic function in patients administered sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i). We aimed to investigate the effect of dapagliflozin on left ventricular (LV) diastolic function in a diabetic animal model and to determine the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying its function.

Methods: A total of 30 male New Zealand white rabbits were randomized into control, diabetes, or diabetes+dapagliflozin groups (n = 10/per each group).

Prolonged dual antiplatelet therapy after drug-eluting stent implantation in patients with diabetes mellitus: A nationwide retrospective cohort study.

Background: Optimal duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) who have undergone drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation is not clearly established. This study sought to impact of DAPT duration on real-world clinical outcome in patients with or without DM.

Methods: Using a nationwide cohort database, we investigate the association between DAPT duration and clinical outcome between 1 and 3 years after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Benefit and risk of prolonged dual antiplatelet therapy after drug-eluting stent implantation in patients with chronic kidney disease: A nationwide cohort study.

Background And Aims: The optimal duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stent in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is not clearly established. This study purposed to compare clinical outcomes of patients with 6-12 (standard) versus 12-24 months (prolonged) DAPT according to CKD.

Methods: Using a nationwide, claim-based database, we retrospectively evaluated association between DAPT duration and clinical outcomes including death, composite ischemic event, and composite bleeding event between 1 and 3 years after PCI.

Long-Term Beta-Blocker Therapy in Patients With Stable Coronary Artery Disease After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Background: It is unclear whether beta-blocker treatment is advantageous in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We evaluated the clinical impact of long-term beta-blocker maintenance in patients with stable CAD after PCI with drug-eluting stent (DES).

Methods: From a nationwide cohort database, we identified the stable CAD patients without current or prior history of myocardial infarction or heart failure who underwent DES implantation.

Clinical Implications of Poststent Optical Coherence Tomographic Findings: Severe Malapposition and Cardiac Events.

Objectives: This study sought to evaluate the impact of poststent optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings, including severe malapposition, on long-term clinical outcomes.

Background: Suboptimal OCT findings following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are highly prevalent; however, their clinical implications remain controversial.

Methods: Of the patients registered in the Yonsei OCT registry, a total of 1,290 patients with 1,348 lesions, who underwent OCT immediately poststenting, were consecutively enrolled for this study.

Consensus Decision-Making for the Management of Antiplatelet Therapy before Non-Cardiac Surgery in Patients Who Underwent Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With Second-Generation Drug-Eluting Stents: A Cohort Study.

Background Although antiplatelet therapy (APT) has been recommended to balance ischemic-bleeding risks, it has been left to an individualized decision-making based on physicians' perspectives before non-cardiac surgery. The study aimed to assess the advantages of a consensus among physicians, surgeons, and anesthesiologists on continuation and regimen of preoperative APT in patients with coronary drug-eluting stents. Methods and Results A total of 3582 adult patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery after percutaneous coronary intervention with second-generation stents was retrospectively included from a multicenter cohort.

Angiographic Findings of the Median Artery in Two Patients with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common type of entrapment neuropathy. The majority of CTS cases are idiopathic and affect females between 40 and 60 years old. Conversely, this report describes two female patients in their mid-30's diagnosed with CTS caused by a median artery in the carpal tunnel using ultrasonography.

Prosthetic Replacement Has a Clinical Outcome Superior to That of Trapeziectomy With Ligament Reconstruction and Tendon Interposition: A Meta-Analysis.

A meta-analysis was performed to compare trapeziectomy with ligament reconstruction and tendon interposition (LRTI) vs prosthetic replacement for first carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis. Seven prospective and retrospective comparison trials were retrieved. A total of 459 patients receiving trapeziectomy with LRTI and 374 patients receiving prosthesis replacement with a follow-up of 12 to 69 months were identified.

Volar locking plate removal after distal radius fracture: a 10-year retrospective study.

Introduction: Distal radius fracture (DRF) is the most common upper extremity fracture. After the introduction of volar locking plate (VLP) fixation, treatment has shifted from conservative management to more operative management. The implant removal rate after VLP fixation in patients with DRF varies and the reasons for removal and associated patient characteristics have not been clearly defined.

Author Correction: A frequency reconfigurable dipole antenna with solid-state plasma in silicon.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

Synergistic protective effects of a statin and an angiotensin receptor blocker for initiation and progression of atherosclerosis.

Aim: Although the atheroprotective effects of statins and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) are well-established, little is known about their additive effects, especially during the early period of atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to investigate whether combination of a statin and an ARB exerts synergistic anti-atherosclerotic effects, and to elucidate the mechanisms of combined effects.

Methods: Atherosclerotic plaques were developed in arteries of 23 rabbits using a high-cholesterol diet (HCD) and intra-arterial balloon inflation.

Clinical utility of coronary computed tomography angiography in patients diagnosed with high-grade stenosis of the coronary arteries.

Objectives: We purposed to evaluate the reliability of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) in patients with a CCTA finding of high-grade stenosis.

Patients And Methods: Between May 2015 and March 2017, patients who underwent invasive coronary angiography (ICA) because of detection of high-grade stenosis by CCTA ( ≥ 70% stenosis of epicardial arteries or ≥ 50% of the left main coronary artery; Coronary Artery Disease Reporting and Data System grade 4 or 5) were selected for this study from our prospective registry cohort.

Results: Among 646 eligible patients, only 263 (41%) patients were correctly diagnosed with significant coronary artery disease on ICA as same as CCTA findings.

Randomized evaluation of ticagrelor monotherapy after 3-month dual-antiplatelet therapy in patients with acute coronary syndrome treated with new-generation sirolimus-eluting stents: TICO trial rationale and design.

Background: Ticagrelor monotherapy after short-term dual-antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) may optimize ischemic and bleeding risks, particularly for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients, because its strategy is less potent than ticagrelor-based DAPT but more potent than aspirin or clopidogrel monotherapy.

Methods: The TICO randomized open-label trial will evaluate whether ticagrelor monotherapy following 3-month DAPT is superior to 12-month ticagrelor-based DAPT in terms of net adverse clinical events (NACE) including efficacy and safety in ACS patients treated with ultrathin bioresorbable polymer sirolimus-eluting stents (BP-SES). Patients undergoing BP-SES implantation for ACS treatment will be randomized in a 1:1 fashion to the (1) ticagrelor monotherapy group after 3-month DAPT; or the (2) 12-month DAPT group.

Comparison of clinical outcomes of two different types of paclitaxel-coated balloons for treatment of patients with coronary in-stent restenosis.

Drug-coated balloon (DCB) angioplasty has been shown to be a promising option for the treatment of coronary in-stent restenosis (ISR). We compared the clinical outcomes of patients with ISR who were treated with two commonly used paclitaxel-containing DCBs, the Pantera Lux (PL) and SeQuent Please (SP). A total of 491 patients with 507 ISR lesions [PL-DCB in 127 (26%) patients and SP-DCB in 364 (74%) patients] underwent DCB angioplasty for ISR lesions.

Aortic Stenosis and Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation: Current Status and Future Directions in Korea.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has been accepted as one of primary options for treatment of symptomatic severe aortic stenosis. Although TAVI has been predominantly used for patients at high risk or with old age who were not considered optimal candidates for surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR), its indication is now expanding toward low risk profile and younger age. Many clinical trials are now ongoing to test the possibility of TAVI for use in patients even with uncharted indications who are not eligible for SAVR in current guidelines but may benefit from valve replacement.

One-year clinical outcomes of ticagrelor compared with clopidogrel after percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with acute myocardial infarction: From Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Data.

Background: Ticagrelor has been widely accepted in clinical practice for treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), however its clinical safety and efficacy have not been revealed sufficiently in Asian populations.

Methods And Results: Among a total 20,270 patients (age <75 years) with AMI undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention who received dual antiplatelet therapy for at least 30 days, clinical outcomes at 1 year were assessed from the database of Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service in Korea between 2013 and 2014. Ticagrelor showed a significant effect on reduction of all-cause death [stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighted (sIPTW)-adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 0.

Patient-Centered Decision-Making of Revascularization Strategy for Left Main or Multivessel Coronary Artery Disease.

Patient preference plays an important role in daily practice; however, its implication has not been well investigated regarding treatment strategy for complex coronary artery disease. We prospectively evaluated a trend of patient-centered decision-making of revascularization strategy in patients with multivessel or unprotected left main coronary artery disease. A standardized protocol that favors coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) as the primary treatment of choice, rather than percutaneous coronary intervention, was adopted.