Safety and efficacy of 2.5-mm sirolimus-eluting stent implantation at lower deployment pressures in very small vessels (<2.5 mm).

Objectives: Percutaneous coronary interventions for very small vessels are common in clinical practice despite an unavailability of the 2.25-mm sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) in some countries. We sought to evaluate the clinical and angiographic outcomes of 2.

Frequency, predictors and outcome of stent fracture after sirolimus-eluting stent implantation.

Background: Recently, stent fracture (SF) of sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) has been shown to be associated with an increased risk of in-stent restenosis. We sought to evaluate the incidence, predictors and clinical outcome of SF after SES implantation in comparable unselected lesions.

Methods: A total of 430 lesions of 382 patients treated with SES were analyzed.

Restenosis and stent fracture following sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) implantation.

Background: Restenosis still occurs, even with the sirolimus-eluting stent (SES), and the precise mechanisms and the impact of stent fracture on restensosis have not yet been elucidated.

Methods And Results: Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-guided SES implantation was performed in 184 lesions in 151 patients with stable and unstable angina. Serial (pre-, post- and follow-up) quantitative coronary angiography analysis was obtained in 169 lesions in 138 patients (angiographic follow-up rate: 91%) and 12-month clinical follow-up was done in all patients.

Is it possible to predict which patients need distal protection during primary angioplasty?

Background: Although the benefit of distal protection (DP) during primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) remains questionable, there appears to be efficacy in some clinical situations. We sought to identify in patients with ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI) which clinical and angiographic characteristics might indicate the patient who will benefit from the use of a DP device.

Methods: A series of 103 consecutive patients with STEMI undergoing primary PCI using DP were compared with 98 consecutive patients treated by primary PCI alone.

[Promising efficacy of the sirolimus-eluting stent in patients with acute myocardial infarction].

Objectives: This study investigated the safety and efficacy of sirolimus-eluting stents (SESs) on early and late outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Methods: A series of 100 consecutive patients (September 2004 to November 2005)with acute myocardial infarction undergoing primary stenting using SES ptember 24 hr) was compared with 100 consecutive patients (September 2003 to August 2004) treated with bare metal stent (BMS). The frequency of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) and stent thrombosis, and status of ticlopidine administration were assessed at 270 days.