Protected carotid artery stenting in patients at high risk for carotid endarterectomy.

Objectives: To compare the 30-day, six-month, and one-year outcomes of carotid artery stenting (CAS) and carotid endarterectomy (CEA) in male veterans, and to identify any predictors of adverse outcomes. CAS has been shown to be non-inferior to CEA in patients at high-risk for CEA. The outcome of CAS compared to low-risk CEA is less clear.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of 96 consecutive patients who underwent CAS (N = 31) or CEA (N = 65). The cumulative 30-day, six-month, and one-year incidence of ipsilateral transient ischemic attack (TIA) or stroke, restenosis or reocclusion, need for target vessel revascularization, non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI), and death were compared.

Results: All patients in the CAS group were at high risk for CEA. Among the CEA group, 50 (76.9%) were at high risk and the remaining 15 (23.1%) were considered to be at low risk. The cumulative incidence of adverse outcomes with CAS and CEA, respectively, at 30 days (3.2% vs 9.2%, P = ns), six months (3.2 vs 18.5%, P = 0.047), and one year (9.7% vs 18.5%, P = ns) favored CAS. This difference was primarily due to adverse events in the high-risk CEA patients. There was no significant difference in outcome between the CAS and low-risk CEA groups. The independent significant predictors for adverse outcomes within six months were the group (P = 0.047) and number of risk factors (P = 0.01). Interestingly, the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-I) predicted adverse outcomes within one year (P = 0.01).

Conclusion: CAS may be superior to high-risk CEA with better six-month outcomes. The outcomes with CAS were not significantly different compared to low-risk CEA, suggesting that CAS may be non-inferior to low-risk CEA.