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The 2023 European Bifurcation Club (EBC) meeting took place in Warsaw in October, and the latest evidence for the use of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) to optimise percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) on coronary bifurcation lesions (CBLs) was a major focus. The topic generated deep discussions and general appraisal on the potential benefits of IVUS and OCT in PCI procedures. Nevertheless, despite an increasing recognition of IVUS and OCT capabilities and their recognised central role for guidance in complex CBL and left main PCI, it is expected that angiography will continue to be the primary guidance modality for CBL PCI, principally due to educational and economic barriers. Mindful of the restricted access/adoption of intracoronary imaging for CBL PCI, the EBC board decided to review and describe a series of tips and tricks which can help to optimise angiography-guided PCI for CBLs. The identified key points for achieving an optimal angiography-guided PCI include a thorough analysis of pre-PCI images (computed tomography angiography, multiple angiographic views, quantitative coronary angiography vessel estimation), a systematic application of the technical steps suggested for a given selected technique, an intraprocedural or post-PCI use of stent enhancement and a low threshold for bailout use of intravascular imaging.

Background: Target lesion failure (TLF) remains an issue with contemporary drug-eluting stents. The dual-therapy sirolimus-eluting and CD34 antibody-coated COMBO stent (DTS) was designed to improve early healing., Aims: We aimed to compare the 3-year outcomes of the DTS and the sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent (SES) in all-comer patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention., Methods: The SORT OUT X trial is a prospective multicentre randomised clinical trial with a registry-based follow-up comparing DTS and SES. The primary endpoint, TLF, is a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction or target lesion revascularisation (TLR)., Results: A total of 3,146 patients were randomised to treatment with the DTS (1,578 patients) or the SES (1,568 patients). At 3 years, an intention-to-treat analysis showed that 155 patients (9.8%) who were assigned the DTS and 118 patients (7.5%) who were assigned the SES met the primary endpoint (incidence rate ratio for TLF=1.33, 95% confidence interval: 1.04-1.70; p=0.02). This difference was caused by a significantly higher TLF rate in the DTS group compared to the SES group within the first year, which was mainly explained by a higher incidence of TLR in the DTS group compared to the SES group. Of note, the TLF rates were almost identical from 1 year to 3 years in both stent groups., Conclusions: At 3 years, the SES was superior to the DTS, mainly because the DTS was associated with an increased risk of TLF within the first year but not from 1 to 3 years., Clinicaltrials: gov: NCT03216733.

Provisional stenting has become the default technique for the treatment of most coronary bifurcation lesions. However, the side branch (SB) can become compromised after main vessel (MV) stenting and restoring SB patency can be difficult in challenging anatomies. Angiographic and intracoronary imaging criteria can predict the risk of side branch closure and may encourage use of side branch protection strategies. These protective approaches provide strategies to avoid SB closure or overcome compromise following MV stenting, minimising periprocedural injury. In this article, we analyse the strategies of SB preservation discussed and developed during the most recent European Bifurcation Club (EBC) meetings.

The European Bifurcation Club (EBC) supports a continuous review of the field of coronary artery bifurcation interventions and aims to facilitate a scientific discussion and an exchange of ideas on the management of bifurcation disease. The recent focus of meetings and consensus statements has been on the technical issues in bifurcation stenting, recognising that the final result of a bifurcation procedure and the long-term outcome for our patients are strongly influenced by factors, including preprocedural strategy, stenting technique selection, performance of optimal procedural steps, the ability to identify and correct complications and finally, and most important, the overall performance of the operator. Continuous refinement of bifurcation stenting techniques and the promotion of education and training in bifurcation stenting techniques represent a major clinical need. Accordingly, the consensus from the latest EBC meeting in Brussels, October 2021, was to promote education and training in bifurcation stenting based on the EBC principle. Part II of this 16th EBC consensus document aims to provide a step-by-step overview of the pitfalls and technical troubleshooting during the implantation of the second stent either in the provisional stenting (PS) strategy or in upfront 2-stent techniques (e.g., 2-stent PS pathway and double kissing crush stenting). Finally, a detailed overview and discussion of the numerous modalities available to provide continuous education and technical training in bifurcation stenting techniques are discussed, with consideration of their future application in enhancing training and practice in coronary bifurcation lesion treatment.

Stepwise layered provisional stenting (PS) is the most commonly used strategy to treat coronary bifurcation lesions (CBL). The term 'stepwise layered' emphasises the versatility of this approach that allows the adjustment of the procedure plan according to the CBL complexity, starting with stent implantation in one branch and implantation of a second stent in the other branch only when required. A series of refinements have been implemented over the years to facilitate the achievement of predictable procedural results using this approach. However, despite its simplicity and versatility, operators using this technique require full knowledge of the pitfalls of each procedural step. Part I of this 16 th European Bifurcation Club consensus paper provides a detailed step-by-step overview of the pitfalls and technical troubleshooting during the implantation of the first stent using the PS strategy for the treatment of CBL.

The 15th European Bifurcation Club (EBC) meeting was held in Barcelona in October 2019. It facilitated a renewed consensus on coronary bifurcation lesions (CBL) and unprotected left main (LM) percutaneous interventions. Bifurcation stenting techniques continue to be refined, developed and tested. It remains evident that a provisional approach with optional side branch treatment utilising T, T and small protrusion (TAP) or culotte continues to provide flexible options for the majority of CBL patients. Debate persists regarding the optimal treatment of side branches, including assessment of clinical significance and thresholds for bail-out treatment. In more complex CBL, especially those involving the LM, adoption of dedicated two-stent techniques should be considered. Operators using such techniques have to be fully familiar with their procedural steps and should acknowledge associated limitations and challenges. When using two-stent techniques, failure to perform a final kissing inflation is regarded as a technical failure, since it may jeopardise clinical outcome. The development of novel technical tools and drug regimens deserves attention. In particular, intracoronary imaging, bifurcation simulation, drug-eluting balloon technology and tailored antiplatelet therapy have been identified as promising tools to enhance clinical outcomes. In conclusion, the evolution of a broad spectrum of bifurcation PCI components has resulted from studies extending from bench testing to randomised controlled trials. However, further advances are still needed to achieve the ambitious goal of optimising the clinical outcomes for every patient undergoing PCI on a CBL.

Coronary bifurcation intervention is common but complex. Progress in this field has been made in recent years with considerable contribution from the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. However, the standard of practice varies across the APAC region due to differences in culture, socioeconomic state and healthcare set-up. Practice may also differ from the rest of the world. Hence, a panel of experts was invited to discuss topics relevant to bifurcation intervention in order to make a concerted effort to achieve consensus that is applicable within the region and in line with available evidence.

The European Bifurcation Club recommends an approach to a bifurcation stenosis which involves careful assessment, planning and a sequential provisional approach. In the minority of lesions where two stents are required, careful deployment and optimal expansion are essential to achieve a long-term result.

Coronary artery bifurcation lesions comprise approximately 15-20% of all percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) and constitute a complex lesion subgroup. Intravascular optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a promising adjunctive tool for guiding coronary bifurcation with its unrivalled high resolution. Compared to angiography, intravascular OCT has a clear advantage in that it depicts ostial lesion(s) in bifurcation without the misleading two-dimensional appearance of conventional angiography such as overlap and foreshortening. In addition, OCT has the ability to reconstruct a bifurcation in three dimensions and to assess the side branch ostium from 3D reconstruction of the main vessel pullback, which can be applied to ensure the optimal recrossing position of the wire after main vessel stenting. Recently, online co-registration of OCT and angiography became widely available, helping the operator to position a stent in precise landing zones, reducing the risk of geographic miss. Despite these technological advances, the currently available clinical data are based mainly on observational studies with a small number of patients; there is little evidence from randomised trials. The joint working group of the European Bifurcation Club and the Japanese Bifurcation Club reviewed all the available literature regarding OCT use in bifurcation lesions and here provides recommendations on OCT guiding of coronary interventions in bifurcation lesions.

Aims: FANTOM II is a prospective multicentre trial assessing the safety and efficacy of the Fantom sirolimus-eluting bioresorbable coronary scaffold (BRS). The present substudy focuses on the six- and nine-month IVUS findings., Methods and Results: A total of 240 patients with de novo coronary artery lesions presenting with stable or unstable disease were included in two sequential cohorts (cohort A [n=117] and cohort B [n=123]) in which angiographic follow-up was performed at either six or nine months, respectively. Matched IVUS data were available for 35 paired cases in cohort A and 26 paired cases in cohort B. At six months, mean and minimum scaffold area (SA) decreased from 6.09±1.08 mm2 to 5.88±1.07 mm2, p=0.009, and 5.27±0.99 mm2 to 5.05±0.99 mm2, p=0.01, respectively. At nine months, no significant change in mean scaffold and minimum scaffold area was observed (6.46±1.11 mm2 to 6.38±0.96 mm2; p=0.35, and 5.45±1.00 mm2 to 5.36±0.86 mm2; p=0.32, respectively). Neointimal hyperplasia area was low at both six (0.11±0.12 mm2) and nine months (0.20±0.21 mm2), as was in-scaffold obstruction volume (1.94±2.25% at six months, and 3.40±4.11% at nine months)., Conclusions: The use of the Fantom BRS in stable coronary artery disease was associated with low rates of neointimal hyperplasia volume and in-scaffold volume obstruction at both six and nine months.

Aims: The aim of the study was to determine whether patients treated with drug-eluting stents in the proximal left anterior descending artery (LAD) carried a different long-term prognosis from patients treated in other coronary artery segments., Methods and Results: Ten-year clinical outcome expressed as all-cause mortality and major adverse cardiac events (MACE: cardiac death, acute myocardial infarction, or target vessel revascularisation) was determined for 1,479 patients with a single non-left main coronary stenosis treated with a first-generation drug-eluting stent in the SORT OUT II trial. The outcome of patients treated with stents in the proximal LAD (n=365) was compared with that of patients treated in a non-proximal LAD segment (n=1,114). Follow-up was 99.3% complete. All-cause mortality was 24.9% in the proximal LAD group vs. 26.3% in the non-proximal LAD group (p=0.60). MACE occurred less frequently in the proximal LAD group, 24.6% vs. 31.0% with a hazard ratio of 0.77 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.61-0.97, p=0.024). After multivariate analysis which included baseline characteristics that were unevenly distributed between the groups, the hazard ratio for MACE was 0.82 (95% CI: 0.65-1.03, p=0.09)., Conclusions: Patients treated with a drug-eluting stent in the proximal LAD have similar, if not better, long-term clinical outcome compared with patients stented in other coronary artery segments.

Interventional cardiology and coronary stent insertion have an increasing role in the optimal management of left main coronary artery (LMCA) stenosis. Assessing the extent of obstructive disease of the LMCA by angiography alone can be challenging. However, in contrast to the two-dimensional, shadow graphic nature of coronary angiography, intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) is an accurate tomographic technique for assessing both the coronary lumen and the vessel wall characteristics. Consequently, it is a particularly useful technique in imaging the LMCA before, during and after intervention. The European Bifurcation Club (EBC) recommends the use of IVUS during most LMCA interventions. The purpose of this consensus document is to review the available IVUS data on LMCA disease evaluation and treatment. It is a practical guide to show "how and when" to use the imaging modality. It is hoped that a standardisation of the practical approach to imaging may allow consolidation of learning and, ultimately, improve patient outcomes.

The 2017 European Bifurcation Club (EBC) meeting was held in Porto (Portugal) and allowed a multidisciplinary international faculty to review and discuss the latest data collected in the field of coronary bifurcation interventions. In particular, the topic of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) on left main coronary artery (LM) disease was highlighted as a contemporary priority. Herein, we summarise the key LM anatomy features, the diagnostic modalities and available data that are relevant for a patient's procedural management. Since the clinical outcomes of patients undergoing PCI on LM disease may depend on both PCI team organisation and PCI performance, the optimal catheterisation laboratory set-up and the rationales for device and technique selection are critically reviewed. The best lesion preparation modalities, the different DES implantation technique choices and the strategies to be considered during PCI on unprotected LM for optimal PCI results are reviewed step by step.

The European Bifurcation Club (EBC) was initiated in 2004 to support a continuous overview of the field of coronary artery bifurcation interventions and aims to facilitate a scientific discussion and an exchange of ideas on the management of bifurcation disease. The EBC hosts an annual, two-day compact meeting, dedicated to bifurcations, which brings together physicians, pathologists, engineers, biologists, physicists, mathematicians, epidemiologists and statisticians for detailed discussions. Every meeting is finalised with a consensus statement that reflects the unique opportunity of combining the opinion of interventional cardiologists with the opinion of a large variety of other scientists on bifurcation management. A series of consensus sessions dedicated to specific topics, to strengthen the consensus debates and focus the discussions, was introduced at this year's meeting. The sessions comprise an intensive overview of the present literature, a pro and con debate and a voting system, to guide the consensus-building process. The present document represents the summary of the up-to-date EBC consensus and recommendations from the 12th annual EBC meeting in 2016 in Rotterdam.

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.

Aims: The aim of this study was to identify predictors of complete ST-segment resolution (STR) pre-primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients enrolled in the ATLANTIC trial., Methods and Results: ECGs recorded at the time of inclusion (pre-hospital [pre-H]-ECG) and in the catheterisation laboratory before angiography (pre-PCI-ECG) were analysed by an independent core laboratory. Complete STR was defined as ≥70%. Complete STR occurred pre-PCI in 12.8% (204/1,598) of patients and predicted lower 30-day composite MACCE (OR=0.10, 95% CI: 0.002-0.57, p=0.001) and total mortality (OR=0.16, 95% CI: 0.004-0.95, p=0.035). Independent predictors of complete STR included the time from index event to pre-H-ECG (OR=0.94, 95% CI: 0.89-1.00, p=0.035), use of heparins before pre-PCI-ECG (OR=1.75, 95% CI: 1.25-2.45, p=0.001) and time from pre-H-ECG to pre-PCI-ECG (OR=1.09, 95% CI: 1.03-1.16, p=0.005). In the pre-H ticagrelor group, patients with complete STR had a significantly longer delay between pre-H-ECG and pre-PCI-ECG compared to patients without complete STR (median 53 [44-73] vs. 49 [38.5-61] mins, p=0.001); however, this was not observed in the control group (in-hospital ticagrelor) (50 [40-67] vs. 49 [39-61] mins, p=0.258)., Conclusions: Short patient delay, early administration of anticoagulant and ticagrelor if a long transfer delay is expected may help to achieve reperfusion prior to PCI. Pre-H treatment may be beneficial in patients with longer transfer delays, allowing the drug to become biologically active.

Bifurcation lesions represent one of the most challenging lesion subsets in interventional cardiology. The European Bifurcation Club (EBC) is an academic consortium whose goal has been to assess and recommend the appropriate strategies to manage bifurcation lesions. The quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) methods for the evaluation of bifurcation lesions have been subject to extensive research. Single-vessel QCA has been shown to be inaccurate for the assessment of bifurcation lesion dimensions. For this reason, dedicated bifurcation software has been developed and validated. These software packages apply the principles of fractal geometry to address the "step-down" in the bifurcation and to estimate vessel diameter accurately. This consensus update provides recommendations on the QCA analysis and reporting of bifurcation lesions based on the most recent scientific evidence from in vitro and in vivo studies and delineates future advances in the field of QCA dedicated bifurcation analysis.

Coronary bifurcations are involved in 15-20% of all percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) and remain one of the most challenging lesions in interventional cardiology in terms of procedural success rate as well as long-term cardiac events. The optimal management of bifurcation lesions is, despite a fast growing body of scientific literature, the subject of considerable debate. The European Bifurcation Club (EBC) was initiated in 2004 to support a continuous overview of the field, and aims to facilitate a scientific discussion and an exchange of ideas on the management of bifurcation disease. The EBC hosts an annual, compact meeting, dedicated to bifurcations, which brings together physicians, engineers, biologists, physicists, epidemiologists and statisticians for detailed discussions. Every meeting is finalised with a consensus statement which reflects the unique opportunity of combining the opinions of interventional cardiologists with the opinions of a large variety of other scientists on bifurcation management. The present 11th EBC consensus document represents the summary of the up-to-date EBC consensus and recommendations. It points to the fact that there is a multitude of strategies and approaches to bifurcation stenting within the provisional strategy and in the different two-stent strategies. The main EBC recommendation for PCI of bifurcation lesions remains to use main vessel (MV) stenting with a proximal optimisation technique (POT) and provisional side branch (SB) stenting as a preferred approach. The consensus document covers a moving target. Much more scientific work is needed in non-left main (LM) and LM bifurcation lesions for continuous improvement of the outcome of our patients.

Bioresorbable coronary scaffolds (BRS) may offer potential advantages compared to metallic DES, aiming to restore vessel patency without implanting a permanent prosthesis, which may be especially important for bifurcation treatment. On the other hand, there are some inherent limitations, which may impact on the widespread use of BRS. In the current article we discuss the bench testing data and initial clinical results on BRS use in bifurcation lesions presented during European Bifurcation Club (EBC) meetings and review some of the limited number of published real-world registry results.

The left main is the largest bifurcation of the coronary tree and is, therefore, easier to access. Nevertheless, the risks of untoward consequences associated with the loss of the side branch are much higher. Although the usual technical strategies implemented in coronary bifurcations can generally be applied to left main lesions, several inherent characteristics (the ostial position of the main branch, the size of the side branch, the amount of calcification, the angle which is often in a T shape, the use of stents of variable suitability, the crucial role of POT) need to be taken into account in order to achieve optimal acute and long-term results.

The culotte technique provides near perfect coverage of the carina and side branch ostium at the expense of an excess of metal covering the proximal end. It can be used in almost all true bifurcation lesions, but should be avoided in bifurcations when there is a large mismatch between the proximal main branch and the side branch diameters. The main disadvantage of this technique is that rewiring of both branches through the stent struts is required, which can be difficult, technically demanding, and time-consuming.

Although the guidelines recommend the provisional one-stent technique as a default technique for bifurcation coronary lesions, there are cases of bifurcations with large side branches (SB), difficult access and with ostial and diffuse disease extending more than 5 mm into the SB, where a two-stent strategy might be the best treatment option. Due to the inherent advantages and disadvantages of each two-stent technique, an appropriate technique should be selected according to each patient's clinical condition, bifurcation morphology and the operator's experience. Good long-term prognosis is most likely ensured by successful performance of each procedural step during the initial stenting.

The European Bifurcation Club (EBC) is an independent, non-political and informal "think tank" of scientists with a particular interest in clinical, technical and fundamental aspects of the management of coronary artery bifurcation disease. Bifurcations account for 15-20% of all percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) and remain one of the most challenging lesions in interventional cardiology in terms of procedural success rate as well as long-term cardiac events. The optimal management is, despite a fast growing scientific literature, still the subject of considerable debate, one of the main concerns being the potential increased risk of late stent thrombosis associated with treatment complexity. The EBC was initiated in 2004 and aims to facilitate an exchange of ideas on management of bifurcation disease. The EBC hosts an annual, compact meeting dedicated to bifurcations which brings together physicians, engineers, biologists, physicists, epidemiologists and statisticians for detailed discussions. Every meeting is finalised with a consensus statement which reflects the unique opportunity of combining the opinion of interventional cardiologists with the opinion of a large variety of other scientists on bifurcation management. This year the EBC celebrates its 10-year anniversary. This consensus document represents the summary of the consensus from the last ten years of the annual EBC meetings.

Aims: Data are limited on the prognostic impact of stent thrombosis and in-stent restenosis in patients treated with coronary stents. We examined the prognostic impact of stent thrombosis and in-stent restenosis in patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)., Methods and Results: All patients who underwent stent implantation from 2002 to 2005 were identified in the Western Denmark Heart Registry. The hazard ratio (HR) for death associated with stent thrombosis or in-stent restenosis was estimated with a Cox regression analysis with stent thrombosis or in-stent restenosis as time-dependent variables. A total of 12,277 patients were treated with stent implantation. Stent thrombosis was observed in 111 (0.9%) patients and in-stent restenosis in 503 (4.1%) patients within 12 months after the index PCI. Occurrence of stent thrombosis was associated with an increased risk of death (HR=2.71 [95% CI: 1.72-4.27]) compared to cases without stent thrombosis. In-stent restenosis had no substantial impact (HR=1.17 [95% CI: 0.79-1.75]). However, in-stent restenosis presenting as non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) was associated with a greater mortality risk compared with presentation of in-stent restenosis without myocardial infarction (HR=3.11 [95% CI: 1.08-8.69]; p=0.036)., Conclusions: The occurrence of stent thrombosis and in-stent restenosis presenting with NSTEMI increased the mortality risk threefold whereas in-stent restenosis without myocardial infarction was not associated with an increased mortality risk.

Aims: In patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), timely reperfusion with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) is the preferred treatment. However, it remains unclear whether the optimal strategy is complete revascularisation or culprit vessel PPCI only., Methods and Results: From January 2002 to June 2009 all patients treated with PPCI were identified from the Western Denmark Heart Registry. We examined mortality according to timing of multivessel PCI: acute procedure, staged procedure during the index hospitalisation, or staged procedure performed within 60 days. The hazard ratio (HR) for death was estimated using a time-dependent Cox regression model, with time of PCI for the non-culprit lesion as the time-dependent variable. The study cohort consisted of 5,944 patients, of whom 4,770 (80%) had single-vessel disease and 1,174 (20%) had multivessel PCI within 60 days. Among 354 (30.2%) patients with acute multivessel PCI, 194 (16.5%) patients with multivessel PCI during the index hospitalisation, and 626 (53.3%) patients with multivessel PCI within 60 days after the index hospitalisation, the adjusted HRs for one-year mortality were 1.53 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.07-2.18), 0.60 (95% CI: 0.28-1.26), and 0.28 (95% CI: 0.14-0.54), respectively, compared to patients with single vessel disease., Conclusions: Acute multivessel PCI in patients with STEMI was associated with increased mortality.

Aims: Patients with diabetes mellitus have increased risk of in-stent restenosis after coronary stent implantation due to neointimal hyperplasia (NIH). The aim of this study was to use quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) and volumetric intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) to evaluate the effects of the sirolimus-eluting Cypher® stent (SES) and the zotarolimus-eluting Endeavor® stent (ZES) on angiographic late lumen loss and intima hyperplasia in diabetic patients., Methods and Results: In the DiabeDES III trial, 127 patients were randomised to SES or ZES stent implantation. Angiographic 10-month follow-up data were available in 105 patients, including 48 SES and 57 ZES treated patients. Angiographic endpoints were in-stent late lumen loss and minimal lumen diameter. IVUS endpoints included NIH volume and in-stent percent volume obstruction. Baseline clinical characteristics and lesion parameters were similar in the two groups. At 10-month follow-up, angiographic in-stent late lumen loss (0.14±0.37 mm vs. 0.74±0.45 mm, p<0.001) was reduced and minimum lumen diameter was higher (2.36±0.53 mm vs. 1.96±0.65, p<0.001) in the SES group as compared to the ZES group. As compared to the ZES group, NIH volume was significantly reduced in the SES group (median [interquartile range]: 0.0 mm3 [0.0 to 1.2] vs. 16.5 mm3 [6.2 to 31.1], p<0.001). In-stent% volume obstruction was significantly reduced in SES as compared to ZES (median [interquartile range]: 0.0% [0.0-0.7] vs. 13.0% [6.7-20.8], p<0.001)., Conclusions: In diabetic patients, the SES reduced angiographic late lumen loss and inhibited NIH more effectively than ZES.

Aims: Stent thrombosis is a serious complication of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We examined the incidence of stent thrombosis and other outcomes in patients treated with PCI and paclitaxeleluting stents (PES), sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) or bare-metal stents (BMS)., Methods and Results: All patients who underwent PES, SES or BMS implantation from January 2002 to June 2005 were identified in the population-based Western Denmark Heart Registry. All were followed for 36 months. Cox regression analysis was used to estimate relative risk (RR), controlling for covariates. A total of 12,374 patients were treated with stents: 1,298 with PES, 2,202 with SES and 8,847 with BMS. The three-year incidence of definite stent thrombosis was similar in the DES group (1.1%) and in the BMS group (0.7%) (adjusted relative risk [RR]: 1.24; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.85-1.81). Very late definite stent thrombosis occurred more frequently in DES-treated patients (adjusted RR: 2.89, 95% CI: 1.48- 5.65). The three-year mortality rate did not differ significantly between the two groups. Target lesion revascularisation (TLR) was lower in DES-treated patients than in BMS-treated patients (adjusted RR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.63-0.81)., Conclusions: An increased risk of very late definite stent thrombosis was observed in DES-treated patients compared with BMS-treated patients, but a similar mortality was detected. TLR continued to be lower among patients receiving DES.

Aim: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of left main (LM) coronary artery stenosis may become an alternative to the standard therapy, coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). The purpose of the present study was to describe the outcome after LM PCI in three cohorts of patients: patients with low surgical risk, patients with high surgical risk or patients considered inoperable, and patients with acute ST elevation MI., Methods and Results: 104 consecutive patients who had LM PCI at the Department of Cardiology, Skejby University hospital between 1999 and 2004 were investigated. The patients were divided into three groups according to PCI indication and operability: surgical low risk patients and suitable lesions for PCI (n=27), poor CABG candidates (age > 80 years, severe comorbidity or inoperability) (n=50), and patients presenting with AMI (n=27). In the three groups mean ages+/-SD were: 60+/-14, 76+/-9, and 68+/-12 years, respectively. At thirty days follow-up the cumulative incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE); cardiac death, MI, or target lesion revascularization (95% CI) were 4 (1-24)%, 16 (8-30)%, and 41 (25-61)%, respectively. At 6 months the cumulative incidence of MACE were 4 (1-24)%, 27 (17-43)%, and 41 (25-62)%., Conclusions: PCI of LM coronary artery stenosis can be performed with good outcome in patients with low surgical risk and with acceptable outcome in surgical high risk patients or patients considered inoperable. Patients with AMI and culprit lesion in the LM have a high mortality in the acute phase, but mid-term prognosis is good if the patient is successfully treated with PCI. This follow-up study underlines the importance of risk stratification in the heterogeneous group of patients undergoing LM PCI.

Background: Limited information is available on target lesion revascularization (TLR) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in unselected patients at the beginning of the drug eluting stent (DES) era., Methods and Results: From January 2000 to September 2004 data from all PCI procedures in Western Denmark were recorded in the Western Danish Heart Registry. A total of 24,701 lesions were treated in 15,542 patients. Lesion length, stent length, frequency of complex lesions and age increased from 2000 to 2004. The use of DES increased from 0% in 2000, 2001, 2002 to 34% in 2003 and 54.0% in 2004 of all stents used. The clinical driven TLR declined from 9.4% in 2000 to 5.4% in 2004. The use of DES (OR 0.60; 95% CI 0.39-0.92, p=0.018) and procedure year (OR 0.89; 95% CI 0.83-0.97, p=0.008) and restenotic lesion (OR 1.51; 95% CI 1.18-1.93, p=0.001) were independent predictors of a TLR. Similar TLR rates were observed in diabetics (7.7%) and non-diabetic (7.0), p=NS., Conclusion: In unselected PCI patients the TLR rate declined from 2000 to 2004. The use of DES was an independent predictor of TLR.

Aims: To compare deliverability and in-hospital complications in implantation of BxSonic(R), Express(R), and Flexmaster(R) coronary stents in a randomized multicenter trial in five Danish interventional centres., Methods and Results: Patients with planned stenting of at least one stenotic lesion in a native coronary artery were included in the study. There were 494 (664) patients (treated lesions) in the BxSonic(R), 499 (657) in the Express(R) and 500 (658) in the Flexmaster(R) groups. The groups were well matched with regard to age, sex, diabetes, smoking, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, indication for PCI and coronary artery lesion complexity. The study stents were implanted with or without predilatation according to ordinary -clinical practice.Rates of successful stent implantation and in-hospital stent thrombosis, re-intervention, non-fatal myocardial infarction or death. The BxSonic(R), Express(R) and Flexmaster(R) stents were successfully implanted in 92,2%, 89,3% and 91,6% of all lesions (ns). There were no in-hospital deaths and the rates of in-hospital complications were similar in the three stent groups., Conclusion: We found similar deliverability and in-hospital complication rates of the BxSonic(R), Express(R) and Flexmaster(R) stents.

Objective: To evaluate the safety of heparin neutralisation by protamine immediately after PCI., Design: Retrospective analysis of prospectively registered data., Setting: A Danish mono-centre study., Patients: All angina pectoris patients treated with PCI between January 1999 and December 2002. The cohort was divided into two groups. Group I (n=1.129 procedures) were patients admitted January 1999 to December 1999, and group II n=4.193 procedures) were admitted January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2002., Interventions: In group I, the femoral sheath was removed 4 hours after the PCI procedure. In group II, circulating heparin was neutralised by protamine sulphate, and the femoral sheath removed immediately after the procedure., Main Outcome Measures: Rates of puncture site complications, stent thrombosis, non-fatal myocardial infarction and death during admission., Results: The rates of stent thrombosis, non-fatal myocardial infarction and in-hospital mortality were similar in the two groups. The rate of puncture site complications were 4,7% in group 1 and 2,6% in group 2 (p<0,001)., Conclusions: Circulating heparin can be safely neutralised by protamine sulphate immediately after PCI.