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Abstract Background Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) improves mortality and morbidity in heart failure patients with wide QRS. Observational studies suggest that patients having more left ventricular dyssynchrony pre-implantation obtain greater benefit on ventricular function and symptoms with CRT. Aim To provide an analysis of the prevalence and type of dyssynchrony in patients included in the CARE-HF trial. Methods 100 patients 67 (58 to 71) years were examined with echocardiography including tissue doppler imaging before receiving a CRT-pacemaker. Atrio-ventricular dyssynchrony (LVFT/RR) was defined as left ventricular filling time 40 ms. Intra-ventricular (regional) dyssynchrony in a 16-segment model was expressed either as a delayed longitudinal contraction (DLC) during the postsystolic phase or by tissue synchronisation imaging (TSI) with a predefined time-difference in systolic maximal velocities >85 ms. Results LVFT/RR was present in 34% and IVMD in 60% of patients while intra-ventricular dyssynchrony was present in 85% (DLC) and 86% (TSI) with a high agreement between the measures (Kappascore 0.86–1.00), indicating the methods being interchangeable. Patients with cardiomyopathy (53%) were more likely to have LVFT/RR Conclusion The prevalence of intra-ventricular dyssynchrony is high in patients with heart failure, wide QRS and depressed systolic function. Most important, TSI appears to be a fast and reliable method to identify patients with intra-ventricular dyssynchrony likely to benefit from CRT.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate angiographic late luminal loss after the implantation of sirolimus-eluting Cypher stents and paclitaxel-eluting Taxus stents in patients with diabetes. The study was a Danish multicenter, open-label, randomized trial. One hundred fifty-three patients with diabetes with coronary artery disease were randomized to Cypher (n = 76) or Taxus (n = 77) stent implantation. All patients were followed for 8 months. The primary end point was 8-month angiographic in-stent late luminal loss. This primary end point was reduced in the Cypher group compared with the Taxus group (0.23 +/- 0.54 vs 0.44 +/- 0.52 mm, p = 0.025). Angiographic in-segment restenosis at 8-month follow-up, a secondary end point, was present in 16 patients (Cypher, n = 6; Taxus, n = 10; p = 0.24). Target lesion revascularization was performed in 5 patients (6.5%) and 9 patients (11.8%) in the Cypher and Taxus groups, respectively (p = 0.25). Definite stent thrombosis was observed in 2 patients (in the Taxus group), no patients had probable stent thrombosis, and 1 patient in each group had possible stent thrombosis. Major adverse cardiac events (cardiac death, myocardial infarction, definite stent thrombosis, or target lesion revascularization) were observed in 17 patients (Cypher, n = 6; Taxus, n = 11; p = 0.19). In conclusion, angiographic in-stent late luminal loss is significantly reduced in patients with diabetes by use of the sirolimus-eluting Cypher stent compared with the paclitaxel-eluting Taxus stent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diabetes mellitus is associated with higher risk of target lesion failure (TLF) after percutaneous coronary intervention. We studied the 5-year outcome in patients with diabetes mellitus treated with biodegradable polymer stents., Methods: The SORT OUT VII was a randomised trial comparing the ultrathin sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent (O-SES) and the biolimus-eluting Nobori stent (N-BES) in an all-comer setting. Patients ( n = 2525) were randomised to receive O-SES ( n = 1261, diabetes: n = 236) or N-BES ( n = 1264, diabetes: n = 235). Endpoints were TLF (a composite of cardiac death, target-lesion myocardial infarction (MI), target lesion revascularization (TLR)), definite stent thrombosis and a patient related outcome (all-cause mortality, MI and revascularization) within 5 years., Results: Patients with diabetes mellitus had higher TLF (20.6% vs 11.0%, (Rate ratio (RR) 1.85 95% confidence interval (CI): (1.42-2.40) and patient related outcome (42.0% vs 31.0%, RR 1.43 95% CI: (1.19-1.71)) compared to patients without diabetes. Among patients with diabetes mellitus, TLF after 5 years did not differ between O-SES and N-BES (21.2% vs 20.0%), RR 1.05 95% CI: (0.70-1.58), p = 0.81). Cardiac death, MI, TLR, and definite stent thrombosis did not differ between the groups., Conclusion: In patients with diabetes mellitus, 5-year outcomes were similar among patients treated with biodegradable polymer O-SES or N-BES., Clinical Trial Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01879358., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: LOJ has received research grants from Biotronik and Biosensor to her institution, MKC has received both educational and research grants from Biotronik and Terumo. MM is supported by a grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation (grant number NNF22OC0074083); has received lecture and/or advisory board fees from AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Novo Nordisk, has received a travel grant from Novo Nordisk, has received institutional research grants from Philips, Bayer and Novo Nordisk, has ongoing research contracts with Janssen, Novo Nordisk, and Philips, and equity in Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly & Company, and Verve Therapeutics. JT, EHC, KNH, AE, LJ, MM, PF, RVJ, MN, JEG, NBS, JK and KTV declare they have no conflicts of interest.

Background: Bioresorbable scaffolds (BRS) have been proposed as an alternative to drug-eluting stents (DES), offering radial support during the early phases of healing, while potentially reducing the risk of long-term complications. A magnesium-based BRS (MgBRS) has shown promising results after implantation. However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the long-term outcomes., Case Summary: A 62-year-old man with hypertension, dyslipidaemia, family history of ischaemic heart disease, and previous myocardial infarction, presented with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). Six years prior, he also had a NSTEMI and a mid-left anterior descending artery (LAD) lesion was treated with a 3.0/25 mm MgBRS. Post-implantation optical coherence tomography (OCT) revealed proximal edge dissection, and a second MgBRS 3.0/15 mm was implanted. Optical coherence tomography of the scaffold-treated segment was performed after 6 and 12 months with no sign of restenosis. The current angiogram showed a restenosis in the previously MgBRS-treated segment in LAD. Optical coherence tomography showed a plaque rupture in a thin cap fibro-atheroma and scaffold remnants. The lesion was pre-dilated and stented with a 3.0/20 mm DES and post-dilated with a 3.5 mm non-compliant balloon., Discussion: Most cases of late scaffold failure showed acquired mal-apposition, which also can be related to the degrading process, or uncovered struts, none of which were seen in our case at 6 or 12 months. This case represents an insight into the vascular healing and potential mechanisms for failure of the MgBRS, with serial OCT recording at implantation, and after 6 months, 12 months, and 6 years., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: L.O.J. has received research grants from Biotronik and Biosensors to her institution. J.T., K.N.H., M.N., and J.F.L. declare no conflicts of interest., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.)

Introduction: Percutaneous coronary intervention with implantation of a bioresorbable scaffold (BRS) provide the vessel support for a limited period allowing the vessel to restore normal vasomotion after degradation of the BRS, opposed to treatment with drug-eluting stents where the metal persist in the vessel wall. Late lumen loss and reduction in lumen area after implantation have been reported. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether intense pre-dilatation before BRS implantation resulted in less reduction of minimal lumen area at 6- and 12-month follow-up after implantation of a Magmaris BRS (MgBRS). Coronary imaging with optical coherence tomography (OCT) and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) was assessed to track changes in lumen and vessel dimensions., Methods: The prospective Optimal lesion PreparaTion before Implantation of the Magmaris bioresorbable scaffold In patients with coronary artery Stenosis (OPTIMIS) study randomly assigned eighty-two patients with chronic coronary syndrome to two pre-dilatation treatment strategies. Patients were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to pre-dilatation with either a non-compliant scoring balloon or a standard non-compliant balloon prior to implantation of a MgBRS. The treated segment was evaluated with OCT and IVUS at baseline, after 6 and 12 months to assess changes in lumen and vessel dimensions. The hypothesis was that more intense pre-dilatation with a non-compliant scoring balloon before MgBRS implantation can reduce the risk of late lumen reduction compared to standard pre-dilatation. The power calculation used expected MLA after 6 months (6.22 mm 2 for the scoring balloon and 5.01 mm 2 for the standard non-compliant balloon), power of 80 %, significance level of 0.05 and expected drop-out rate of 15 %, requiring 82 patients to be enrolled., Results: Eighty-two patients were included in the study. Enrollment was from December 2020 to September 2023., Conclusion: The hypothesis was that more intense pre-dilatation with a non-compliant scoring balloon before MgBRS implantation can reduce the risk of late lumen reduction compared to standard pre-dilatation., Competing Interests: The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: KNH, MN, JT, COF, MH, KTV, JEG, AJ, AM, JFL, HSH have no conflict of interests. LOJ has received research grants from Biotronik, OrbusNeich, Biosensors, and 10.13039/501100008645Terumo to her institution; and honoraria from Biotronik., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: Patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) may have worse outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention compared to patients without ACS., Aims: To compare 5-year efficacy and safety outcomes in patients with and without ACS treated with biodegradable polymers, the ultrathin strut sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent (O-SES) or the biolimus-eluting Nobori stent (N-BES)., Methods: The Scandinavian Organisation for Randomized Trials with Clinical Outcome VII is a randomized trial comparing O-SES and N-BES in an all-comer setting. Of 2525 patients, 1329 (53%) patients had ACS and 1196 (47%) patients were without ACS. Endpoints were target lesion failure (TLF) (a composite of cardiac death, target lesion myocardial infarction, or target lesion revascularization) and definite stent thrombosis within 5 years., Results: At 5-year follow-up, TLF did not differ significantly between patients with and without ACS (12.3% vs. 13.2%; rate ratio (RR) 1.00; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.70-1.44), whereas the risk of definite stent thrombosis was increased in patients with ACS (2.3% vs. 1.3; RR: 2.01 [95% CI: 1.01-3.98]). In patients with ACS, the rate of TLF was similar between O-SES and N-BES (12.4% vs. 12.3%; RR: 1.02; 95% CI: 0.74-1.40). The reduced risk of definite stent thrombosis in O-SES treated ACS patients within the first year (0.2% vs. 1.6%; RR: 0.12; 95% CI: 0.02-0.93) was not maintained after 5 years (1.8% vs. 2.7%; RR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.37-1.63)., Conclusion: Patients with ACS had an increased risk of stent thrombosis regardless of the stent type used. Long-term outcomes were similar for ACS patients treated with O-SES or N-BES at 5 years., (© 2023 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background: The relation between the resting full cycle ratio (RFR) and fractional flow reserve (FFR) is not fully understood. This study aims to investigate the influence of coronary microvascular dysfunction, assessed by the index of microvascular resistance (IMR), on RFR compared to FFR in patients undergoing functional assessment for coronary stenosis., Materials and Methods: Two-hundred patients with borderline stenosis underwent functional assessment of RFR, FFR, coronary flow reserve (CFR) and IMR. Retriever operator curve analysis was performed to assess the diagnostic value of RFR in patients with (IMR ≥ 24) and (IMR < 24)., Results: Median RFR did not differ significantly in patients with IMR ≥ 24 compared to patients with IMR < 24: 0.89 (interquartile range (IQR) 0.84, 0.95) vs. 0.90 (IQR 0.84, 0.92), p = 0.29). FFR was significantly higher in patients with IMR ≥ 24 compared to patients with IMR < 24: median FFR 0.85 (IQR (0.76, 0.92)) vs. 0.82 (IQR 0.73, 0.86), p = 0.009, and median CFR was significantly lower 1.80 (IQR 1.40, 2.55) vs. 2.70 (IQR 1.80, 3.95), p < 0.001. The diagnostic value of RFR was high (Area under the curve (AUC) 0.89 95 % Confidence Interval: [0.85, 0.93]) and AUC did not differ between patients with IMR ≥ 24 compared to patients with IMR < 24: 0.89 vs. 0.90, p = 0.89. An overall optimal cut off of 0.88 was identified. The cut off did not differ significantly between patients with IMR ≥ 24 compared to patients with IMR < 24: 0.88 vs. 0.90, p = 0.397., Conclusion: In patients with coronary borderline stenosis, the coronary microvascular function did not influence on the cut off values or AUC of RFR compared to FFR., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest LOJ has received research grants from Biotronik and Biosensors to her institution and honoraria from Biotronik. JT, KNH, MN, JEG, AJ, KTV, MH, COF and HSH declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Biodegradable polymer drug-eluting stents were developed to improve safety and efficacy outcomes for patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. However, few long-term follow-up efficacy studies are available. The study sought to investigate 5-year results from the SORT OUT VII trial (Scandinavian Organization for Randomized Trials With Clinical Outcome) comparing the biodegradable polymer ultrathin-strut sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent (O-SES) versus the biodegradable polymer biolimus-eluting Nobori stent (N-BES)., Methods: This registry-based, randomized, multicenter, single-blinded, noninferiority trial compared O-SES and N-BES in an all-comer population. The composite primary end point, target lesion failure, consisted of cardiac death, myocardial infarction related to the target lesion, or target lesion revascularization within 1 year. Follow-up was extended to 5 years., Results: Five-year follow-up was completed for 2521 patients (99.8%). Five-year target lesion failure did not differ between O-SES (12.4%) and N-BES (13.1%; rate ratio [RR], 0.94 [95% CI, 0.75-1.18]). Cardiac death (RR, 0.95 [95% CI, 0.67-1.34]), target myocardial infarction (RR, 1.14 [95% CI, 0.76-1.71]), target lesion revascularization (RR, 0.90 [95% CI, 0.67-1.21]), and definite stent thrombosis rates (RR, 0.73 [95% CI, 0.41-1.33]) did not differ significantly between the 2 stents. Within the first year, definite ST was significantly lower for O-SES (0.4%) compared to N-BES (1.2%; RR, 0.33 [95% CI, 0.12-0.92]), but no difference was from 1 through 5 years: O-SES 1.2% and N-BES 0.9% (RR, 1.28 [95% CI, 0.58-2.82])., Conclusions: Five years after treatment with biodegradable polymer stents, target lesion failure did not differ among O-SES and N-BES. Definite stent thrombosis was less often seen within the first year in the O-SES but the difference was not maintained after 5 years., Registration: URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT01879358.

Purpose: The objectives amongst cardiac patients with and without type 2 diabetes were to (i) describe self-reported characteristics as health-related quality of life (HRQoL), health behaviour, body mass index (BMI) and physical shape and to (ii) investigate the association between self-reported characteristics and 1- and 3-year mortality., Methods: Adult patients (≥ 18 years) discharged with a cardiac diagnosis were invited to participate in a national survey, DenHeart. Self-reported characteristics included HRQoL (EQ-5D-5L and HeartQol), health behaviour (alcohol and smoking), BMI and physical shape. Data were linked to national registries. The association between self-reported characteristics and 1- and 3-year mortality were investigated using the Cox Proportional Hazard Regression model, reported as hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI)., Results: In total, 16,659 cardiac responders were included (n = 2,205 with type 2 diabetes, n = 14,454 without type 2 diabetes). Self-reported characteristics were worse amongst cardiac patients with type 2 diabetes compared to those without. After three years, the mortality rate was 14% amongst responders with diabetes and 7% amongst responders without type 2 diabetes (p ≤ 0.001). Better HRQoL was associated with a reduced risk of mortality amongst both groups. "Never been smoking" significantly reduced the risk of 1- and 3-year mortality amongst cardiac patients without diabetes, whereas good physical shape was associated with a reduced risk across both groups., Conclusion: HRQoL, health behaviour, BMI and physical shape are significantly worse amongst cardiac patients with type 2 diabetes. Better HRQoL was associated with a reduced risk of mortality amongst both groups, whereas other self-reported characteristics and the mortality risk varied., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the incidence, cause and probability of re-hospitalization within 30 and 365 days after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with diabetes., Method: Between January 2010 and September 2014, 2763 patients with diabetes were treated with PCI at two Hospitals in Western Denmark. Reasons for readmission within 30 and 365 days were identified., Results: Readmission risks for patients with diabetes were 58% within 365 days and 18% within 30 days. Reason for readmission was ischemic heart disease (IHD) in 725 patients (27%), and non-IHD-related reasons in 826 patients (31%). IHD-related readmission within 365 days was associated with female gender (OR 1.3, 95% CI: 1.1-1.5), and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, compared to stable angina at the index hospitalization (OR 1.3, 95% CI: 1.1-1.6). Among patients with diabetes, increased risk of readmission due to other reasons were age (OR 1.3, 95% CI: 1.2-1.5) and higher scores of modified Charlson Comorbidity index (CCI): CCI ≥3 (OR 3.6, 95% CI: 2.8-4.6)., Conclusion: More than half of the patients with diabetes mellitus undergoing PCI were readmitted within 1 year. Comorbidities were the strongest predictor for non-IHD-related readmission, but did not increase the risk for IHD-related readmissions.

Background: The purpose of a bioresorbable scaffold (BRS) is to provide radial support during coronary healing. In this study, coronary artery healing after optical coherence tomography (OCT)- versus angiography-guided magnesium BRS (MBRS) implantation in patients with non-ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) is compared., Methods: 75 patients were randomized 1:1 to OCT- or angiography-guided implantation of a MBRS with protocolled pre- and post-dilation. In the OCT-guided group, prespecified criteria indicating additional intervention were (1) scaffold under-expansion, (2) strut malapposition, (3) edge dissection, and (4) residual stenosis at distal or proximal reference segments. The primary endpoint was OCT-derived healing stage at 6 months., Results: At 6 months, there was no difference in average healing stage between OCT- and angiography-guided intervention (4.6 [interquartile range (IQR): 4.5-4.7] versus 4.5 [IQR: 4.3-4.7]; p = 0.54). The MBRSs were completely resolved in 77.0% [IQR: 68.5-85.5] versus 76.5% [IQR: 67.9-85.5]; (p = 0.97). Minimal lumen area (MLA) was reduced at 6 months in both the OCT- (32.3%; p < 0.01) and the angiography-guided group (21.3%; p < 0.01), however OCT-guided implantation was associated with a greater reduction of total lumen volume (-27.1 ± 32.5 mm 3 versus -5.0 ± 32.9 mm 3 ; p < 0.01) and MLA (-2.3 ± 1.6 mm 2 vs. -1.4 ± 1.4 mm 2 ; p = 0.02)., Conclusions: In NSTEMI patients, OCT-guidance with protocolled pre- and post-dilation of MBRS implantation showed similar healing pattern at 6 months compared to angiography-guidance alone., Clinical Trial Registration: The Coronary Artery Healing Process after Optical Coherence Tomography Guided Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with Magmaris Bioresorbable Scaffold in Patients with Non-ST-Segment-Elevation Myocardial Infarction: (HONEST) trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03016624., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest AM has received research grant from Abbott Vascular and Boston Scientific. Consultant for Boston Scientific and Philips. JFL has received speakers fee from Biotronik, Boston Scientific, Abbott Vascular, Biosensors, Therumo, and St. Jude Medical. LOJ has received research grants to her institution from Biotronik, Biosensors and Terumo and honoraria from Biotronik. COF, LA, MN, MH, KNH, JE, OA, KTV, ABJ, and HSH declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To evaluate the difference in early vascular healing between the ultrathin-strut biodegradable-polymer sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent (O-SES) and the polymer-free biolimus-A9-eluting BioFreedom stent (BF-BES), assessed with optical coherence tomography (OCT) after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarctions (STEMIs)., Methods: Eighty patients with STEMI who underwent primary PCI were randomly allocated 1:1 to treatment with BF-BES or O-SES. OCT was acquired after PCI and at 1-month follow-up. The primary endpoint was 1-month OCT-assessed vascular healing index based on the presence of uncovered and malapposed stent struts and intraluminal filling defects where low vascular healing index indicated favorable vascular healing., Results: At 1-month, the vascular healing index was similar in O-SES 11.5 [interquartile range (IQR) 9.5-17.5], compared to BF-BES 11.5 (IQR 7.1-12.5; P = 0.14). Percentage of uncovered struts [O-SES 31.5% (IQR 20.7-41.9), P = 0.43] vs. BF-BES 27.8% (IQR 19.4-41.9; P = 0.44), and median volume of neointimal hyperplasia [O-SES 4.9 mm3 (IQR 1.4-13.1) vs. BF-BES 7.1 mm3 (IQR 2.8-17.0), P = 0.18] did not differ significantly between the two stent groups. Complete coverage was not observed in any of the stents. The percentages of stents with malapposition did not differ significantly (O-SES 87.1% vs. BF-BES 71.4%, P = 0.14) whereas percentage of malapposed struts [O-SES 3.5% (IQR 0.8-5.5) vs. BF-BES 0.8% (IQR 0.0-1.8), P = 0.003] was lower in the BF-BES group., Conclusion: In patients with STEMI, the drug-coated BF-BES and the thin strut O-SES had similar vascular healing index at 1-month. However, the thin O-SES struts were more often malapposed., (Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

This sub-study of the SORT OUT IX trial sought to compare clinical outcomes between patients with diabetes randomized to implantation of either the polymer-free biolimus A9-coated BioFreedom stent (BF-BES) or the ultra-thin strut, biodegradable polymer sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent (O-SES). Patients with diabetes have an increased risk of target lesion failure (TLF) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The impact of different stent types in patients with diabetes is still discussed. A total of 607 of the 3151 patients (19.3%) enrolled in the SORT OUT IX study had diabetes. Randomization was stratified by patients with/without diabetes; 304 received BF-BES and 303 O-SES. The primary endpoint was TLF, which was a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction (not related to other than the index lesion) and target lesion revascularization (TLR) within 1 year. After 1 year, patients with diabetes had higher TLF (7.2% vs. 3.7%, incidence rate ratio [IRR]: 1.65; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.08-2.50), than patients without diabetes. TLF did not differ significantly between BF-BES and O-SES in patients with diabetes (8.2% vs. 6.3%, IRR: 1.17; 95% CI: 0.63-2.20). In patients with diabetes, cardiac death occurred in 2.3% of BF-BES and in 3.6% of O-SES (IRR: 0.58; 95% CI: 0.23-1.45) and TLR occurred in 5.3% and 2.3% of BF-BES and O-SES, respectively (IRR: 2.12; 95% CI: 0.81-5.56). Definite stent thrombosis rates of 1.3% were found in both stent types. Patients with diabetes had higher 1-year TLF rate after PCI compared to patients without diabetes, whereas TLF did not differ significantly between the two stent types BF-BES and O-SES in patients with diabetes., (© 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Objectives: To compare the early vascular healing of ruptured plaques (RP) and non-ruptured plaques (NRP) one month after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), using optical coherence tomography (OCT)., Background: Vascular healing and strut coverage are important factors in reducing the risk of stent thrombosis after PCI. Influence of underlying lesion characteristics and differences in healing response between RP and NRP are unknown., Methods: Twenty-six STEMI-patients underwent PCI and implantation of a polymer-free drug-coated Biofreedom stent (BF-BES). OCT was performed pre-PCI, post-PCI and at 1-month follow-up. The patients were divided into two groups: RP = 15 and NRP = 11. OCT analyses of culprit lesion, post stent implantation at baseline and follow-up were performed to determine the difference in vascular healing based on presence of uncovered and/or malapposed stent struts and intraluminal filling defects., Results: The stent coverage did not differ significantly between the two groups at 1-month follow-up with percentage of uncovered struts: RP 26.5% [IQR 15.0-49.0] and NRP 28.1% [IQR 15.5-38.8] for NRP (p = 0.78). At 1-month, RP showed an increased percentage of late acquired malapposed struts (1.4% [IQR 0.8-2.4] vs. 0.0% [IQR 0.0-1.4], p = 0.03) and a larger total malapposition area (1.3 mm 2 [IQR 0.4-2.5] vs. 0.0 mm 2 [IQR 0.0-0.9], p = 0.01), compared to NRP., Conclusion: Three out of four struts were covered within one month after stenting. The vascular healing was comparable in RP and NRP on stent coverage. However, RP had more and larger late acquired malapposition areas., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest LOJ has received research grants from Biotronik, Biosensors and Terumo to her institution and honoraria from Biotronik. EHC has received unrestricted research grant from Biotronik and Biosensors to his institution and honoraria from Abbott. KiNH, LA, AM, MM, JE, OA, KTV, KnNH, MN, COF and TT declare that they have no conflict of interests. The SORT OUT organization has received grants from Biosensors. The company had no influence on the study design, data collection, data analysis or data interpretation, and did not have access to the clinical trial database., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aims: This study sought to evaluate the incidence of ruptured plaques and nonruptured plaques (NRP) and to compare patient characteristics and detailed plaque morphology features between the two culprit types in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients, using optical coherence tomography (OCT)., Methods and Results: Using OCT, the culprit lesions in patients with STEMI were assessed prior to stent implantation. The culprit lesion was categorized as ruptured plaques or NRP, and the plaque components were evaluated. Fifty-two patients (69.3%) presented with ruptured plaques and 23 (30.7%) with NRP. Patients with NRP were younger (58.0 ± 10.4 vs 64.7 ± 9.9 years, P = 0.01) and more often smokers (72.7% vs 37.1%, P = 0.001), compared to ruptured plaques. NRP contained significantly more fibrotic plaque (20.0% [interquartile range (IQR) 13.7-29.8] vs 11.3% [IQR 6.9-18.1], P = 0.005), but less lipidic plaque (44.0% ± 13.7 vs 59.3% ± 13.6, P < 0.001), less superficial [5.0% (IQR 2.8-7.5) vs 8.1% (IQR 5.7-11.0), P = 0.005] and profound macrophages [0.9% (IQR 0.0-1.7) vs 2.2% (IQR 0.9-4.7), P = 0.003]. The prevalence, numbers and lengths of thin-cap fibroatheroma (TCFA) were significantly lower in NRP, compared to ruptured plaques [47.8% vs 88.5%, 0 (IQR 0-1) vs 1 (IQR 1-2) and 0 mm (IQR 0-2.7) vs 4.5 mm (IQR 2.3-7.7), P < 0.001]., Conclusions: One-third of STEMI patients had culprit lesions without an OCT-detectable ruptured plaque. Culprit lesions with NRP contained less vulnerable plaque components, such as lipid plaque, TCFAs and macrophages compared to ruptured plaques.

Purpose: To outline a data-driven analysis involving use of intravenous (i.v.) pump data to identify optimal drug and fluid amounts for various continuous infusions, with the primary goal of minimizing medication waste. This methodology incorporates analysis of vial sizes, infusion rates, number of bag exchanges, and bag volumes to determine optimal concentrations that improve operational efficiencies and decrease drug and fluid waste., Methods: A retrospective evaluation of i.v. infusion pump utilization data for continuous infusions of norepinephrine, phenylephrine, vasopressin, and cisatracurium was performed using data provided by 9 hospitals in North Carolina during January, April, and June of 2015., Results: The recommended medication concentrations and fluid volumes were determined using a novel 4-step analysis, the VERB (Vial, Exchange, Rate, and Bag) analysis, which applied optimal practices for cost reduction, operational efficiency, and patient safety. The application of the VERB analysis to the i.v. infusion pump utilization data resulted in the following recommended medication concentrations: norepinephrine, 4 mg/100 mL (final concentration, 40 µg/mL) and 16 mg/250 mL (final concentration, 64 µg/mL); phenylephrine, 10 mg/100 mL (final concentration, 100 µg/mL); vasopressin, 20 units/100 mL (final concentration, 0.2 unit/mL); and cisatracurium, 200 mg/100 mL (final concentration, 2 mg/mL). It was determined that implementation of the recommended concentrations by the 9 study hospitals would result in significant medication cost savings and fluid volume savings., Conclusion: Analysis of i.v. infusion pump data from multiple hospitals using VERB analysis resulted in standardized medication concentrations and bag sizes for continuous infusions that reduce drug and fluid waste and improve operational efficiencies., (© American Society of Health-System Pharmacists 2020. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Drug-eluting stents with biodegradable polymers have been designed to improve safety and efficacy. However, drug-eluting stents with biodegradable polymers may not be a class effect, as stent strut thickness, polymer coating, and drug resorption differ between these groups of stents. Twelve months results of Scandinavian Organization for Randomized Trials With Clinical Outcome VII showed that ultrathin-strut sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent was noninferior to the biolimus-eluting Nobori stent. The sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent was associated with a reduced risk of definite stent thrombosis., Methods: The Scandinavian Organization for Randomized Trials With Clinical Outcome VII trial is a prospective multicenter randomized clinical trial comparing sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent and biolimus-eluting Nobori stent in all-comers patients. The endpoint target lesion failure was a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction (not related to other than index lesion) and target lesion revascularization., Results: A total of 1261 patients were randomized to treatment with sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent and 1264 patients to biolimus-eluting Nobori stent and followed for 3 years. At 3-year the target lesion failure was comparable for sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent (9.0%) and the biolimus-eluting Nobori stent (9.1%), (rate ratio, 0.99; 95% confidence interval, 0.77-1.29). Cardiac death (sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent 3.0% vs. biolimus-eluting Nobori stent 2.6% [rate ratio, 1.16; 95% confidence interval, 0.73-1.86]), target lesion revascularization (sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent 5.2% vs. biolimus-eluting Nobori stent 5.9% [rate ratio, 0.90; 95% confidence interval, 0.64-1.25]), myocardial infarction (sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent 4.7% vs. biolimus-eluting Nobori stent 4.5% [rate ratio, 1.04; 95% confidence interval, 0.72-1.50]), and definite stent thrombosis (sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent 1.0% vs. biolimus-eluting Nobori stent 1.7% [rate ratio, 0.59; 95% confidence interval, 0.30-1.18]) did not differ significantly between the two groups., Conclusion: At 3-year follow-up, target lesion failure did not differ among ultrathin-strut sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent and biolimus-eluting Nobori stent with biodegradable polymers.

Background: In patients with increased bleeding risk, the biolimus A9-coated BioFreedom stent, a stainless steel drug-coated stent free from polymer, has shown superiority compared with a bare-metal stent. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the BioFreedom stent is noninferior to a modern ultrathin strut biodegradable polymer cobalt-chromium sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent in an all-comers patient population treated with percutaneous coronary intervention., Methods: The SORT OUT IX trial (Scandinavian Organization for Randomized Trials With Clinical Outcome IX), was a large-scale, registry-based, randomized, multicenter, single-blind, 2-arm, noninferiority trial. The primary end point, major adverse cardiovascular events, was defined as the composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction not related to any segment other than the target lesion, or target lesion revascularization within 1 year, analyzed by intention-to-treat. The trial was powered to assess noninferiority for major adverse cardiovascular events of the BioFreedom stent compared with the Orsiro stent with a predetermined noninferiority margin of 0.021., Results: Between December 14, 2015 and April 21, 2017, 3151 patients were assigned to treatment with the BioFreedom stent (1572 patients, 1966 lesions) or to the Orsiro stent (1579 patients, 1985 lesions). Five patients were lost to follow-up because of emigration (99.9% follow-up rate). Mean age was 66.3±10.9, diabetes mellitus was seen in 19.3% of patients, and 53% of the patients had acute coronary syndromes. At 1 year, intention-to-treat analysis showed that 79 (5.0%) patients, who were assigned the BioFreedom stent, and 59 (3.7%), who were assigned the Orsiro stent, met the primary end point (absolute risk difference 1.29% [upper limit of one-sided 95% CI 2.50%]; P noni nferiority =0.14). Significantly more patients in the BioFreedom stent group had target lesion revascularization than those in the Orsiro stent group (55 [3.5%] vs 20 [1.3%], rate ratio 2.77 [95% CI, 1.66-4.62]; P <0.0001)., Conclusions: The biolimus A9-coated BioFreedom polymer-free stent did not meet criteria for noninferiority for major adverse cardiovascular events at 12 months when compared with the ultrathin strut biodegradable polymer sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent in an all-comers population Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT02623140.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the thin-strut biodegradable-polymer everolimus-eluting platinum-chromium stent (EES) with the biodegradable-polymer biolimus-eluting stainless-steel stent (BES)., Background: Currently available drug-eluting coronary stents have been refined to reduce the risk for coronary events following implantation., Methods: This randomized, multicenter, all-comers, noninferiority trial was undertaken at 3 sites in western Denmark. Patients with clinical indications for percutaneous coronary intervention were eligible for inclusion. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to either EES or BES. The primary endpoint, target lesion failure, was a composite of safety (cardiac death and myocardial infarction not clearly attributable to a nontarget lesion) and efficacy (target lesion revascularization) at 12 months, analyzed using intention-to-treat principles. The trial was powered to assess target lesion failure noninferiority of the EES compared with the BES with a predetermined noninferiority margin of 3%., Results: A total of 1,385 patients were assigned to treatment with EES and 1,369 patients to treatment with BES. The analysis showed that 55 patients (4.0%) assigned to the EES and 60 (4.4%) assigned to the BES met the primary endpoint (absolute risk difference 0.4%; upper limit of 1-sided 95% confidence interval: 1.7%; p < 0.001)., Conclusions: At 1-year follow-up, the EES was found to be noninferior to the BES with respect to target lesion failure. (Everolimus-eluting SYNERGY Stent Versus Biolimus-Eluting Biomatrix NeoFlex Stent-SORT-OUT VIII; NCT02093845)., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) has been reported to be associated with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), affecting 5%-48% of MPN patients. With the aims to describe the prevalence of PH in Ph-MPN patients and explore the cause in identified subjects, we performed a prospective cohort study of Ph-MPN patients., Method: Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) was performed on all patients. When the TTE was abnormal, further investigations were performed according to current guidelines from the European Society of Cardiology. The primary endpoint was the frequency of PH. The secondary endpoint was causes of PH., Results: We included 158 patients, median age was 65 years. Fifty percent had polycythemia vera, 34% essential thrombocytosis, and 11% primary myelofibrosis, 3% post-ET-myelofibrosis, and 2% post-PV-myelofibrosis. Only six patients (3.8%) were found to have a high probability of PH. They were all examined with right heart catheterization and all met the invasive criteria for PH. In all six patients other causes than MPN for PH were identified, although some contribution from the MPN could not be ruled out in three patients., Conclusion: In the largest study ever reported, we found a lower prevalence of PH (3.8%) than previously reported. Screening for PH in unselected MPN patients is not justified., (© 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Aims: The aim of the study was to evaluate the incidence and causes of rehospitalisation within one year after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in a country where the National Health Service provides universal tax-supported healthcare, guaranteeing residents free hospital access., Methods and Results: Between January 2010 and September 2014, 17,111 patients were treated with PCI in two University Hospitals in Western Denmark. Patients who were readmitted within one year after PCI were identified. The overall one-year readmission rate was 50.4%. The cause was angina/myocardial infarction (MI) in 4,282 patients (49.7%), and other reasons in 4,334 (50.3%). Predictors of angina/MI-related readmissions were female gender (odds ratio [OR] 1.15, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.07-1.25), diabetes (OR 1.14, 95% CI: 1.04-1.26), age (per 10-year increase) (OR 0.86, 95% CI: 0.83-0.88), and indication for index PCI (stable angina pectoris as reference): ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (OR 1.34, 95% CI: 1.23-1.47) and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (OR 1.18, 95% CI: 1.08-1.29). Predictors for other readmissions were female gender (OR 1.09, 95% CI: 1.01-1.18), diabetes (OR 1.29, 95% CI: 1.18-1.42), age (OR 1.30, 95% CI: 1.26-1.34) and Charlson comorbidity index ≥3 (OR 3.03, 95% CI: 2.71-3.27)., Conclusions: In an unselected patient cohort treated with PCI, half of the patients were rehospitalised within one year, highlighting the impact of comorbidity in patients with ischaemic heart disease.

A 60-year old woman with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, underwent coronary angiogram combined with optical coherence tomography (OCT) revealing a long dissection in the right coronary artery. The patient experienced peri-procedural chest pain, the electrocardiogram showed ST-segment elevations, and compromised coronary blood flow, why mechanical revascularization with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was indicated. At 1-month follow-up, OCT revealed early, competent vascular healing, and a distal stenosis was treated with PCI. The patient has been asymptomatic since the procedure for three years., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aims: To show non-inferiority of the 67- or 87 µm thick, sirolimus-eluting Orsiro drug eluting stent (DES) to the 122 µm thick, biolimus-eluting Nobori DES regarding size of vessel lumen outside the stent at 13-month follow-up., Methods and Results: This study was a substudy to the SORT-OUT VII trial, a prospective, 1:1-randomized, comparison of the two stents in patients with stable coronary artery disease or acute coronary syndrome. Optical coherence tomography was acquired after percutaneous coronary intervention and at 13-month follow-up. The substudy was powered to access non-inferiority (Δ = 0.60 mm2) of the Orsiro DES to the Nobori DES for the primary endpoint of mean extra stent lumen (ESL) i.e. vessel lumen outside the stent at 13-month follow-up. We randomized 124 patients to Orsiro (n = 60) or Nobori (n = 64). Due to a difference in the one-sided 95%-confidence interval of 0.26 mm2, but increased to 0.82 mm2 after appropriate log-transformation, it could not be rejected that Orsiro exceeded the non-inferiority limit. Testing for superiority, Orsiro had a significantly larger mean ESL at follow-up (Orsiro: 0.11 mm2 [0.02;0.30] mm2, Nobori: 0.03 mm2 [0.00;0.17] mm2, P = 0.04). Stent strut coverage was, Orsiro: 97.6 % [93.8;99.4]%, and Nobori: 96.3 % [90.5;98,6]% (P = 0.13)., Conclusion: Orsiro DES had a significantly larger mean ESL at follow-up and it could not be excluded that Orsiro exceeded the limit for non-inferiority. Nobori DES had a more heterogeneous distribution of neointima but stent strut coverage did not differ significantly between the two stents., (Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2017. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Aims: Our aim was to report the long-term safety and efficacy of the biodegradable polymer-coated biolimus- eluting Nobori stent compared to the durable polymer-coated sirolimus-eluting CYPHER stent., Methods and Results: SORT OUT V randomised 2,468 patients 1:1 to the Nobori (n=1,229) versus the CYPHER stent (n=1,239). Clinically driven event detection based on Danish registries was used. The primary endpoint was a composite of safety (cardiac death, myocardial infarction, definite stent thrombosis) and efficacy (target vessel revascularisation). Individual components of the primary endpoint comprise the secondary endpoints. At five-year follow-up, the composite endpoint rate was found to be similar in patients treated with the two study stents (Nobori 182/1,229 [14.8%] vs. CYPHER 197/1,239 [15.8%]; odds ratio [OR] 0.93, 95% CI: 0.75-1.16; p=0.53). The rates of definite stent thrombosis were also found to be similar in patients treated with the two study stents (Nobori 23/1,229 [1.9%] vs. CYPHER 18/1,239 [1.5%]; OR 1.31, 95% CI: 0.70-2.47; p=0.40), as were the other secondary endpoints., Conclusions: At five-year follow-up, the Nobori stent with a biodegradable polymer coating provided a similar safety and efficacy profile when compared to the durable polymer first-generation CYPHER stent.

Introduction: Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a new method to identify lipid core plaque (LCP). The LCP and vascular response were assessed with NIRS to examine whether LCP was compressed or redistributed during percutaneous coronary intervention with stent implantation., Methods: In 25 patients with non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) NIRS acquisition was performed after predilation, stent implantation with nominal pressure and high-pressure post-dilation with a non-compliant balloon. The intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) measures included volumes of external elastic membrane (EEM), lumen and plaque+media. The NIRS measures included lipid core burden index (LCBI) and maximum value of LCBI for any of the 4-mm segment (maxLCBI 4mm )., Results: From predilation to stent implantation and post-dilation EEM volume increased from 337±124mm 3 to 369±136mm 3 and to 397±144mm 3 (p<0.001), while plaque volume decreased from 225±84mm 3 to 202±85mm 3 and to 192±81mm 3 (p<0.001). Plaque shift to the proximal reference segment was found in 40% of the lesions. The maxLCBI 4mm decreased significantly from predilation to stent implantation (492±235 to 208±193 (p<0.001), whereas post dilation did not cause any further significant reduction. Also LCBI decreased significantly from predilation to stent implantation (173±103 to 68±67, p<0.001), without any further significant reduction during post-dilation. The LCBI did neither in the proximal nor in the distal reference segments change significantly during stent implantation or post-dilation., Conclusion: Lumen enlargement was caused by vessel expansion, plaque compression and longitudinally plaque redistribution. Lipid-core burden at the stented segment was decreased., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The authors sought to compare the safety and efficacy of the biocompatible durable-polymer zotarolimus-eluting stent with the biodegradable-polymer biolimus-eluting stent in unselected coronary patients., Background: Biodegradable-polymer biolimus-eluting stents are superior to first-generation durable-polymer drug-eluting stents in long-term randomized all-comer trials. Long-term data comparing them to second-generation durable-polymer drug-eluting stents are lacking., Methods: The study was a randomized, multicenter, all-comer, noninferiority trial in patients with chronic stable coronary artery disease or acute coronary syndromes and at least 1 coronary artery lesion requiring treatment with a drug-eluting stent. Endpoints included major adverse cardiac events (MACE), a composite of safety (cardiac death and myocardial infarction not clearly attributable to a non-target lesion) and efficacy (target lesion revascularization); the individual endpoints of MACE; all-cause mortality; any myocardial infarction; target vessel revascularization; and definite or probable stent thrombosis at 36 months., Results: From March 2011 to August 2012, 2,999 patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either the zotarolimus-eluting (1,502 patients) or the biolimus-eluting (1,497 patients) stent. At 3-year follow-up, MACE occurred in 128 (8.6%) patients assigned to the durable-polymer zotarolimus-eluting stent and in 144 (9.6%) assigned to the biodegradable-polymer biolimus-eluting stent (p = 0.36). Occurrence of cardiac death (2.7% vs. 3.4%), myocardial infarction not clearly attributable to a non-target lesion (2.7% vs. 2.5%), and target lesion revascularization (5.4% vs. 5.5%) did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. Definite very late stent thrombosis occurred in 6 (0.4%) patients assigned to the durable-polymer zotarolimus-eluting stent and in 10 (0.7%) assigned to the biodegradable-polymer biolimus-eluting stent (p = 0.33)., Conclusions: At 3-year follow-up, the durable-polymer zotarolimus-eluting stent and the biodegradable-polymer biolimus-eluting stent were similar in clinical outcome, with no significant difference in safety and efficacy outcomes, including stent thrombosis., (Copyright © 2017 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Stenting-induced edge dissections (ED) can be assessed in detail by optical coherence tomography (OCT). This study sought to investigate the incidence, morphological characteristics, and spontaneous healing course of OCT-identified EDs following drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation in a non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) patient-population., Methods: Acute vessel wall injury at the 5-mm stent adjacent distal and proximal reference segments was assessed by post-procedure OCT and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in n=97 NSTEMI-patients (n=97 lesions). Six months OCT follow-up was available in 82 patients (including 35 untreated post-procedure EDs)., Results: The overall incidence of post-procedure OCT-detected ED was 38 per 97 patients (39.2%), and 47 per 182 stent edges (25.8%). None of the EDs were angiographically visualizable, while 10 (21.3%) were visible on concomitant IVUS-analysis. Morphologically, there was a significant difference in plaque type present at ED-edges vs. non-ED-edges when assessed with OCT; (1) lipid-rich and calcified plaques: 80.9% vs. 57.0%, (2) fibrous plaques: 17.0% vs. 26.7%, and (3) normal coronary vessels: 2.1% vs. 16.3%, p<0.01. Plaqueburden, assessed by IVUS, was substantially larger at ED-containing borders: 54.5±10.0% vs. 43.7±11.6%, p=0.01. Three dissections (8.6%) were incompletely healed at 6-month OCT follow-up. None of the EDs caused cardiac events during the 6-month follow-up, however, 1 ED-patient had target lesion revascularization with PCI and DES-implantation in extension of the scheduled OCT-control., Conclusions: OCT-detected EDs were frequent after stent implantation due to NSTEMI, and the majority of these EDs healed without leading to an adverse prognosis at 6months., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Coronary drug-eluting stents with biodegradable polymers have been designed to improve safety and efficacy., Methods and Results: The Scandinavian Organization for Randomized Trials With Clinical Outcome (SORT OUT) VII trial-a large-scale registry-based randomized, multicenter, single-blind, 2-arm, noninferiority trial-compared 2 biodegradable polymer drug-eluting stents: the thin-strut cobalt-chromium sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent and the stainless steel biolimus-eluting Nobori stent in an all-comer patient population. The primary end point target lesion failure was a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction (not related to other than index lesion), or target lesion revascularization within 1 year, analyzed by intention to treat (noninferiority margin of 3.0%). Clinically driven event detection based on Danish registries was used. A total of 1261 patients were assigned to receive the sirolimus-eluting stent (1590 lesions) and 1264 patients to the biolimus-eluting stent (1588 lesions). At 1 year, the composite end point target lesion failure occurred in 48 patients (3.8%) in the sirolimus-eluting group and in 58 patients (4.6%) in the biolimus-eluting group (absolute risk difference, -0.78% [upper limit of 1-sided 95% confidence interval, 0.61%]; P<0.0001). Rates of definite stent thrombosis occurred in 5 (0.4%) of the sirolimus-eluting group compared with 15 (1.2%) biolimus-eluting stent-treated patients (rate ratio, 0.33; 95% confidence interval, 0.12-0.92; P=0.034), which largely was attributable to a lower risk of subacute definite stent thrombosis: 0.1% versus 0.6% (rate ratio, 0.12; 95% confidence interval, 0.02-1.00; P=0.05)., Conclusions: The thin-strut sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent was noninferior to the biolimus-eluting Nobori stent in unselected patients for target lesion failure at 1 year., Clinical Trial Registration: URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01879358., (© 2016 American Heart Association, Inc.)

Background: Long-term safety and efficacy for everolimus-eluting stents (EES) versus those of sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) are unknown., Objectives: This study compared 5-year outcomes for EES with those for SES from the SORT OUT IV (Scandinavian Organization for Randomized Trials with Clinical Outcome) trial., Methods: Five-year follow-up was completed for 2,771 patients (99.9%). Primary endpoint was a composite of major adverse cardiac events (MACE), including cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI), target vessel revascularization (TVR), and definite stent thrombosis., Results: At 5-years, MACE occurred in 14.0% and 17.4% in the EES and SES groups, respectively (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.80, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.66 to 0.97; p = 0.02). The MACE rate did not differ significantly within the first year (HR: 0.96, 95% CI: 0.71 to 1.19; p = 0.79), but from years 1 through 5, the MACE rate was lower with EES (HR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.55 to 0.90; p = 0.006; p interaction = 0.12). Definite stent thrombosis was lower with EES (0.4%) than with SES (2.0%; HR: 0.18, 95% CI: 0.07 to 0.46), with a lower risk of very late definite stent thrombosis in the EES group (0.2% vs. 1.4%, respectively; HR: 0.16, 95% CI: 0.05 to 0.53). When censoring the patients at the time of stent thrombosis, we found no significant differences between the 2 stent groups for MACE rates (HR: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.73 to 1.08; p = 0.23), target lesion revascularization (HR: 0.90, 95% CI: 0.64 to 1.27; p = 0.55), and MI (HR: 0.93, 95% CI: 0.64 to 1.36; p = 0.72)., Conclusions: At 5-year follow-up, MACE rate was significantly lower with EES- than with SES-treated patients, due largely due to a lower risk of very late definite stent thrombosis. (Randomized Clinical Comparison of the Xience V and the Cypher Coronary Stents in Non-selected Patients With Coronary Heart Disease [SORT OUT IV]; NCT00552877)., (Copyright © 2016 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Frequency-domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) is a high-resolution imaging tool (~10-15 μm), which enables near-histological in-vivo images of the coronary vessel wall. The use of the technique is increasing, both for research- and clinical purposes. This study sought to investigate the intra- and interobserver reliability, as well as the intra-catheter reproducibility of quantitative FD-OCT-assessment of morphometric stent parameters and qualitative FD-OCT-evaluation of strut coverage in 10 randomly selected 6-month follow-up Nobori® biolimus-eluting stents (N-BESs)., Methods: Ten N-BESs (213 cross sectional areas (CSAs) and 1897 struts) imaged with OCT 6 months post-implantation were randomly selected and analyzed by 2 experienced analysts, and the same 10 N-BESs were analyzed by one of the analysts 3 months later. Further, 2 consecutive pullbacks randomly performed in another 10 N-BESs (219 CSAs and 1860 struts) were independently assessed by one of the analysts., Results: The intraobserver variability with regard to relative difference of mean luminal area and mean stent area at the CSA-level was very low: 0.1%±1.4% and 0.5%±3.2%. Interobserver variability also proved to be low: -2.1%±3.3% and 2.1%±4.6%, and moreover, very restricted intra-catheter variation was observed: 0.02%±6.8% and -0.18%±5.2%. The intraobserver-, interobserver- and intra-catheter reliability for the qualitative evaluation of strut coverage was found to be: kappa (κ)=0.91 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.88-0.93, p<0.01), κ=0.88 (95% CI: 0.85-0.91, p<0.01), and κ=0.73 (95% CI: 0.68-0.78, p<0.01), respectively., Conclusions: FD-OCT is a reproducible and reliable imaging tool for quantitative evaluation of stented coronary segments, and for qualitative assessment of strut coverage., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Incomplete strut coverage has been documented an important histopathologic morphometric predictor for later thrombotic events. This study sought to investigate whether optical coherence tomography (OCT)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention with Nobori biolimus-eluting stent implantation in patients with non-ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction would provide improved strut coverage at 6 months in comparison with angiographic guidance only., Methods and Results: One hundred patients were randomized 1:1 to either OCT-guided or angio-guided Nobori biolimus-eluting stent implantation. Postprocedure OCT was performed in all patients. In the OCT-guided group, prespecified criteria indicating additional intervention were related to (1) stent underexpansion, (2) strut malapposition, (3) edge dissection(s), and (4) residual stenosis at the distal or proximal reference segment(s). A final OCT was performed in case of reintervention. Six-month OCT follow-up was available in 85 patients. Twenty-three (46%) OCT-guided patients had additional postdilation or stenting. The percentage of acutely malapposed struts was substantially lower in the OCT-guided group (3.4% [interquartile range, 0.3-7.6] versus 7.8% [interquartile range, 2.3-19.4]; P<0.01). At 6-month follow-up, the OCT-guided group had a significantly lower proportion of uncovered struts; 4.3% [interquartile range, 1.2-9.8] versus 9.0% [interquartile range, 5.5-14.5], P<0.01. Furthermore, OCT-guided patients had significantly more completely covered stents: 17.5% versus 2.2%, P=0.02. The percentages of malapposed struts and struts being both uncovered and malapposed at follow-up were comparable between groups., Conclusions: OCT-guided optimization of Nobori biolimus-eluting stent implantation improves strut coverage at 6-month follow-up in comparison with angiographic guidance alone., Clinical Trial Registration: URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT02272283., (© 2015 American Heart Association, Inc.)

We aimed to characterize and estimate survival rates in patients diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in western Denmark in the modern management era. All incident cases of PAH were consecutively enrolled in our single-center prospective cohort study between January 2000 and March 2012. A total of 134 patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria were followed up from first diagnostic right heart catheterization to either death or the end of the study. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to estimate 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Survival in the total cohort was 86.4% (95% CI, 79.3%-91.2%) after 1 year, 72.9% (95% CI, 64.1%-79.9%) after 3 years, and 65.4% (95% CI, 55.8%-73.4%) after 5 years. Significantly better survival was seen in the group of patients with PAH associated with congenital heart disease than in the group of patients with idiopathic PAH, heritable PAH, connective tissue disease, HIV infection, and portal hypertension. In conclusion, survival rates in the Danish PAH population were similar to or slightly better than survival rates estimated in other modern registries. However, PAH remains a fatal disease, despite modern targeted therapies.

Filoviruses, including Ebola virus, are associated with outbreaks of severe febrile illness with high fatality rates in humans. The 2014 outbreak of Ebola virus in West Africa is by far the largest outbreak in history and the first to spread to highly populated urban areas. The potential for such an epidemic to spread beyond Africa through international travel has raised concern in the world community as well as in American and international health agencies. This article presents background information, personal and public protective strategies, and treatment recommendations for emergency physicians.

Background: New-generation drug-eluting coronary stents have reduced the risk of coronary events, especially in patients with complex disease or lesions. To what extent different stent platforms, polymers, and antiproliferative drugs affect outcomes, however, is unclear. We investigated the safety and efficacy of a third-generation stent by comparing a highly biocompatible durable-polymer-coated zotarolimus-eluting stent with a biodegradable-polymer-coated biolimus-eluting stent., Methods: This open-label, randomised, multicentre, non-inferiority trial was done at three sites across western Denmark. All patients who presented with stable coronary artery disease or acute coronary syndromes and at least one coronary artery lesion (more than 50% stenosis) from March, 2011, to August, 2012, were assessed for eligibility. Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either the durable-polymer zotarolimus-eluting stent or the biodegradable-polymer biolimus-eluting stent. The primary endpoint was a composite of safety (cardiac death and myocardial infarction not clearly attributable to a non-target lesion) and efficacy (target-lesion revascularisation) at 12 months, analysed by intention to treat. The trial was powered to assess non-inferiority of durable-polymer zotarolimus-eluting stent compared with the biodegradable-polymer biolimus-eluting stent with a predetermined non-inferiority margin of 0·025. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01956448., Findings: Of 7103 screened, 1502 patients with 1883 lesions were assigned to receive the durable-polymer zotarolimus-eluting stent and 1497 patients with 1791 lesions to receive the biodegradable-polymer biolimus-eluting stent. 79 (5·3%) and 75 (5·0%) patients, respectively, met the primary endpoint (absolute risk difference 0·0025, upper limit of one-sided 95% CI 0·016%; p=0·004). The individual components of the primary endpoint did not differ significantly between stent types at 12 months., Interpretation: The durable-polymer-coated zotarolimus-eluting stent was non-inferior to the biodegradable-polymer-coated biolimus-eluting stent in unselected patients., Funding: Medtronic Cardiovascular and Biosensors Interventional Technologies., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The study sought to compare the risk of late outcome with a focus on very late definite stent thrombosis of the everolimus-eluting stent (EES) with that of the sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) at 3-year follow-up., Background: In the SORT OUT IV (SORT OUT IV Trial), comparing the EES with the SES in patients with coronary artery disease, the EES was noninferior to the SES at 9 months. The SORT OUT IV trial provides long-term head-to-head randomized comparison of the EES with the SES., Methods: We prospectively randomized 2,774 patients in the SORT OUT IV trial. Follow-up through 3 years was complete in 2,771 patients (99.9%). The 3-year pre-specified endpoints were composites of safety and efficacy (major adverse cardiac events [MACE]: cardiac death, myocardial infarction, target vessel revascularization, and definite stent thrombosis)., Results: At 3 years, the composite endpoint MACE occurred in 9.8% of the EES group and in 11.1% of the SES group (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.89, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.70 to 1.12). Overall rate of definite stent thrombosis was lower in the EES group (0.2% vs. 1.4%; HR: 0.15, 95% CI: 0.04 to 0.50), which was largely attributable to a lower risk of very late definite stent thrombosis: 0.1% versus 0.8% (HR: 0.09, 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.70)., Conclusions: At 3-year follow-up, the MACE rate did not differ significantly between EES- and SES-treated patients. A significant reduction of overall and very late definite stent thrombosis was found in the EES group. (The SORT OUT IV TRIAL [SORT OUT IV]; NCT00552877)., (Copyright © 2014 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: In head-to-head comparisons of coronary drug-eluting stents, the primary endpoint is traditionally assessed after 9-12 months. However, the optimum timepoint for this assessment remains unclear. In this study, we assessed clinical outcomes at up to 5 years' follow-up in patients who received two different types of drug-eluting stents., Methods: We undertook this multicentre, open-label, randomised superiority trial at five percutaneous coronary intervention centres in Denmark. We randomly allocated 2332 eligible adult patients (≥18 years of age) with an indication for drug-eluting stent implantation to the zotarolimus-eluting Endeavor Sprint stent (Medtronic, Santa Rosa, CA, USA) or the sirolimus-eluting Cypher Select Plus stent (Cordis, Johnson & Johnson, Warren, NJ, USA). Randomisation of participants was achieved by computer-generated block randomisation and a telephone allocation service. The primary endpoint of the SORT OUT III study was a composite of major adverse cardiac events-cardiac death, myocardial infarction, and target vessel revascularisation-at 9 months' follow-up. In this study, endpoints included the occurrence of major adverse cardiac events and definite stent thrombosis at follow-up times of up to 5 years. Analysis was by intention to treat. The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00660478., Findings: We randomly allocated 1162 patients to receive the zotarolimus-eluting stent and 1170 to the sirolimus-eluting stent. At 5-year follow-up, rates of major adverse cardiac events were similar in patients treated with both types of stents (zotarolimus-eluting stents 197/1162 [17.0%] vs sirolimus-eluting stents 182/1170 [15.6%]; odds ratio [OR] 1.10, 95% CI 0.88-1.37; p=0.40). This finding was indicative of the directly contrasting results for rates of major adverse cardiac events at 1-year follow up (zotarolimus 93/1162 [8.0%] vs sirolimus 46/1170 [3.9%]; OR 2.13, 95% CI 1.48-3.07; p<0.0001) compared with those at follow-up between 1 and 5 years (104 [9.0%] vs 136 [11.6%]; OR 0.78, 95% CI 0.59-1.02; p=0.071). At 1-year follow-up, definite stent thrombosis was more frequent after implantation of the zotarolimus-eluting stent (13/1162 [1.1%]) than the sirolimus-eluting stent (4/1170 [0.3%]; OR 3.34, 95% CI 1.08-10.3; p=0.036), whereas the opposite finding was recorded for between 1 and 5 years' follow-up (zotarolimus-eluting stent 1/1162 [0.1%] vs sirolimus-eluting stent 21/1170 [1.8%], OR 0.05, 95% CI 0.01-0.36; p=0.003). 26 of 88 (30%) target lesion revascularisations in the zotarolimus-eluting stent group occurred between 1 and 5 years' follow-up, whereas 54 of 70 (77%) of those in the sirolimus-eluting stent group occurred during this follow-up period., Interpretation: The superiority of sirolimus-eluting stents compared with zotarolimus-eluting stents at 1-year follow-up was lost after 5 years. The traditional 1-year primary endpoint assessment therefore might be insufficient to predict 5-year clinical outcomes in patients treated with coronary drug-eluting stent implantation., Funding: Cordis and Medtronic., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To evaluate the effects of the everolimus-eluting Xience™/Promus™ stent (EES) and the sirolimus-eluting Cypher™ stent (SES) on intimal hyperplasia (IH) in diabetic patients., Background: Patients with diabetes mellitus have increased risk of in-stent restenosis after coronary stent implantation due to intimal hyperplasia (IH)., Methods: In a sub study of the Randomized Comparison of Everolimus-Eluting and Sirolimus-Eluting Stents in Patients Treated with Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (SORT OUT IV trial), serial intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) 10-month follow-up data were available in 88 patients, including 48 EES and 40 SES treated patients. IVUS endpoints included IH volume, in-stent % volume obstruction and changes in external elastic membrane (EEM) volume., Results: Compared with the SES group, IH volume was increased in the EES group [median (interquartile range): 2.8 mm(3) (0.0-12.6) vs. 0.0 mm(3) (0.0-1.1), P = 0.001]. In-stent % volume obstruction was increased in EES compared to SES [median (interquartile range): 1.6% (0.0-8.2) vs. 0.0% (0.0-1.0), P = 0.001]. Peri-stent external elastic membrane (EEM) volume: (post procedure vs. follow-up EES [300 mm(3) (219-491) vs. 307 mm(3) (223-482), P = 0.73] and SES [316 mm(3) (235-399) vs. 323 mm(3) (246-404), P = 0.05]) and peri-stent plaque volume: EES [163 mm(3) (103-273) vs. 184 mm(3) (115-291), P = 0.18] and SES [186 mm(3) (139-248) vs. 175 mm(3) (153-243), P = 0.26]) were unchanged in both groups. In the proximal reference segment a significant increase in plaque area was seen in the EES group only, without vascular remodeling., Conclusion: In diabetic patients, EES stent implantation was associated with increased IH volume obstruction without involvement of vascular remodeling., (Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Background: Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is a serious condition in patients with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention. We compared the risk of acute CIN and the influence of preventive strategies in patients with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention., Methods and Results: A total of 720 patients were randomized in the Prevention of Contrast-induced Nephropathy in Patients With ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction Undergoing Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (CINSTEMI) trial. Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1:1:1 ratio to receive hydration with sodium chloride together with 1 of 4 prophylactic regimes (1) N-acetylcysteine (NAC), (2) sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) infusion, (3) NAC in combination with NaHCO3, or (4) hydration with sodium chloride infusion alone. Patients in cardiogenic shock were excluded. Acute CIN was defined as an increase in serum creatinine concentration >25% from the baseline value within a 3-day period. Overall, CIN occurred in 141 (21.9%) patients. The prevention treatment with NAC, NaHCO3, or the combined NAC and NaHCO3 did not reduce the rate of CIN significantly compared with hydration with intravenous sodium chloride infusion alone (20.1% versus 20.1% versus 20.8% versus 26.5%; P=NS). However, an increase in serum creatinine >25% from the baseline value to 30 day was significantly lower in patients treated with combined NAC and NaHCO3 (18.7% versus 19.1% versus 9.2% versus 21.3%; P=0.033)., Conclusions: Treatment with NAC or NaHCO3 did not reduce the rate of acute CIN significantly. Combined treatment with NAC and NaHCO3 may reduce the risk of renal dysfunction after 30 days., Clinical Trial Registration Url: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01160627.

Background: Chronic kidney disease is associated with increased risk of mortality. We examined the impact of moderate and severe renal insufficiency (RI) on short- and long-term mortality among unselected patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)., Methods: From January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2010 all patients with STEMI treated with primary PCI were identified. The hazard ratio (HR) for death was estimated using a Cox regression model, controlling for potential confounders. RI was defined as creatinine clearance (CrCl) < 60 mL/min (moderate RI: CrCl ≤30 < 60 mL/min and severe RI: CrCl < 30 mL/min)., Results: The study cohort consisted of 4,116 patients of whom 898 (21.8%) had RI and 3,218 (78.2%) had a CrCl ≥ 60 mL/min. Compared to patients without RI, patients with RI were older, more often female and more likely to have diabetes mellitus, hypertension and to present with a higher Killip class.Among patients with a preserved kidney function and patients with RI, 30-day all-cause mortality was 3.5% vs. 20.9% (log-rank p < 0.001); 1-year all-cause mortality was 5.7% vs. 29.4% (log-rank p < 0.001); 5-year all-cause mortality was 13.4% vs. 47.4% (log-rank p < 0.001). Moderate and severe RI were associated with higher 1-year mortality compared to patients with a preserved renal function (CrCl ≤30 < 60 mL/min: adjusted HR 2.71 [95% CI 2.09-3.51], p < 0.001), and (CrCl < 30 mL/min: adjusted HR 7.09 [4.82-10.44], p < 0.001)., Conclusion: In unselected STEMI patients treated with primary PCI, moderate and severe RI were associated with increased risk of mortality.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to compare long-term follow-up results of crush versus culotte stent techniques in coronary bifurcation lesions., Background: The randomized Nordic Stent Technique Study showed similar 6-month clinical and 8-month angiographic results with the crush and culotte stent techniques of de novo coronary artery bifurcation lesions using sirolimus-eluting stents. Here, we report the 36-month efficacy and safety of the Nordic Stent Technique Study., Methods: A total of 424 patients with a bifurcation lesion were randomized to stenting of both main vessel and side branch with the crush or the culotte technique and followed for 36 months. Major adverse cardiac events-the composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis, or target vessel revascularization-were the primary endpoint., Results: Follow-up was complete for all patients. At 36 months, the rates of the primary endpoint were 20.6% versus 16.7% (p = 0.32), index lesion restenosis 11.5% versus 6.5% (p = 0.09), and definite stent thrombosis 1.4% versus 4.7% (p = 0.09) in the crush and the culotte groups, respectively., Conclusions: At 36-month follow-up, the clinical outcomes were similar for patients with coronary bifurcation lesions treated with the culotte or the crush stent technique. (Nordic Bifurcation Study. How to Use Drug Eluting Stents [DES] in Bifurcation Lesions? NCT00376571)., (Copyright © 2013 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Elderly patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) constitute a particular risk group in relation to primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI)., Objective: We examined the proportion of octogenarians and nonagenarians undergoing PPCI in Western Denmark, and their short- and long-term mortality rates., Methods: From 2002 to 2009 all consecutive patients ≥ 80 years with STEMI treated with PPCI were identified in the population based Western Denmark Heart Registry. Cox regression analysis was used to compute hazard ratios, controlling for potential confounding., Results: A total of 1,322 elderly (1,213 octogenarians and 109 nonagenarians), corresponding to 11.6% of the total PPCI treated STEMI population were treated with PPCI between 2002 and 2009. The annual proportion of octogenarians referred for PPCI increased from n = 52 (6.2%) in 2002 to n = 172 (11.8%) in 2009 (P < 0.01), while it remained unchanged in nonagenarians: n = 6 (0.6%) in 2002 to n = 13 (0.8%) in 2009 (P = ns). For octogenarians and nonagenarians, 30-day mortality was 17.2% versus 25.8% (log-rank P = 0.028), 1-year mortality was 27.6% versus 32.5% (log-rank P = 0.18) and 5-year mortality 53.6% versus 57.3% (log-rank P = 0.087), respectively. Adjusted 30-day hazard ratio (HR) = 1.59 (95% confidence interval = CI: 1.07-2.36), 1-year HR = 1.34 (CI: 0.95-1.90), and 5-year mortality HR = 1.39 (CI: 1.04-1.85) was higher in nonagenarians compared with octogenarians., Conclusion: The annual proportion of octogenarians with STEMI treated with PPCI doubled from 2002 to 2009, while the proportion of nonagenarians remained unchanged. Although nonagenarians had the highest short- and long-term mortality, we found the outcome acceptable with a 5-year survival of more than 40% in both groups., (Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Background: Third-generation biodegradable polymer drug-eluting stents might reduce the risk of stent thrombosis compared with first-generation permanent polymer drug-eluting stents. We aimed to further investigate the effects of a biodegradable polymer biolimus-eluting stent compared with a durable polymer-coated sirolimus-eluting stent in a population-based setting., Methods: This randomised, multicentre, all-comer, non-inferiority trial was undertaken at three sites across western Denmark. Eligible patients were aged 18 years or older with chronic stable coronary artery disease or acute coronary syndromes, and at least one coronary artery lesion (>50% diameter stenosis). We randomly assigned patients (1:1) using an independently managed computer-generated allocation sequence to receive either a biolimus-eluting biodegradable polymer stent (Nobori, Terumo, Tokyo, Japan) or a sirolimus-eluting permanent polymer stent (Cypher Select Plus, Cordis, Johnson & Johnson, Warren, NJ, USA). The primary endpoint was a composite of safety (cardiac death, myocardial infarction, definite stent thrombosis) and efficacy (target vessel revascularisation) at 9 months, analysed by intention to treat (non-inferiority margin of 0·02). This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01254981., Findings: From July, 2009, to January, 2011, we assigned 1229 patients (1532 lesions) to receive the biolimus-eluting stent and 1239 (1555 lesions) to receive the sirolimus-eluting stent. One patient was lost to follow-up because of emigration. Intention-to-treat analysis showed that 50 (4·1%) patients who were assigned the biolimus-eluting stent and 39 (3·1%) who were assigned the sirolimus-eluting stent met the primary endpoint (risk difference 0·9% [upper limit of one-sided 95% CI 2·1%]; p(non-inferiority)=0·06). Significantly more patients in the biolimus-eluting stent group had definite stent thrombosis at 12 months than did those in the sirolimus-eluting stent group (9 [0·7%] vs 2 [0·2%], risk difference 0·6% [95% CI 0·0-1·1]; p=0·034). Per-protocol analysis showed that 45 (3·8%) of 1193 patients who received a biolimus-eluting stent and 39 (3·2%) of 1208 who received a sirolimus-eluting stent met the primary endpoint (risk difference 0·5% [upper limit of one-sided 95% CI 1·8%]; p(non-inferiority)=0·03)., Interpretation: At 1 year follow-up, the biodegradable polymer biolimus-eluting Nobori stent did not improve clinical results compared with a first-generation sirolimus-eluting stent. We will need to obtain long-term data before we can make recommendations for the role of this biolimus-eluting stent in routine clinical practice., Funding: Terumo and Cordis (Johnson & Johnson)., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of low-dose versus high-dose rosuvastatin therapy on the necrotic core (NC) content in coronary plaques of angiographic non-significant lesions as assessed by intravascular ultrasound - virtual histology., Methods and Results: Eighty-seven statin-naive patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) were randomised to 5 mg or 40 mg rosuvastatin. The volume of each plaque component (necrotic core, fibrous tissue, fibro-fatty, and dense calcium) was assessed at baseline and after 12 months of follow-up. Baseline low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol level was reduced by 31.8% in the low-dose group (from 3.1±0.7 mmol/l to 2.0±0.4 mmol/l, p<0.001) vs. 49.0% in the high-dose group (from 3.1±1.0 mmol/l to 1.6±0.7 mmol/l, p<0.001) (p=0.001 between groups). The plaque component necrotic core was reduced by 7.6% in the low-dose group (44.6±38.2 mm3 vs. 41.2±40.3 mm3, p=0.29) compared to 14.2% in the high-dose group (47.4±38.2 mm3 vs. 40.7±34.4 mm3, p=0.003) (p=0.38 between groups)., Conclusions: In statin-naive patients with STEMI, rosuvastatin therapy for 12 months resulted in significant reduction in LDL-cholesterol; however, a significant decrease in necrotic core volume was only seen in the high-dose group.