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A total of 495 patients underwent treatment with excimer laser angioplasty for 545 saphenous vein graft stenoses. Clinical success was achieved in 455 of 495 patients (92%), as indicated by < or = 50% residual stenosis at every target lesion and no complication during hospitalization. At least 1 in-hospital complication occurred in 30 of 495 patients (6.1%): death (1.0%), bypass surgery (0.6%), and Q-wave (2.4%) or non-Q-wave (2.2%) myocardial infarction. Relative risk analysis showed that ostial lesions (n = 65) tended to have higher clinical success (success rate = 95%, adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 2.1 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.62, 6.88]; p = 0.24) and lower complications (complication rate = 0%, OR = 0.10 [CI 0.01, 0.79]; p = 0.03) than lesions in the body of the vein graft. Lesions > 10 mm (n = 131) had lower success (success rate = 84%, OR = 0.30 [CI 0.16, 0.56]; p = 0.001) and higher complications (complication rate = 12%, OR = 3.3 [CI 1.6, 6.6]; p = 0.004) than discrete lesions. Lesions in small vein grafts < 3.0 mm (n = 76) tended to have increased success (success rate = 94%, OR = 1.55 [CI 0.70, 3.44]; p = 0.39) and lower complications (complication rate = 2.2%, OR = 0.31 [CI 0.10, 0.94]; p = 0.03). Thus, excimer laser-facilitated angioplasty has the most favorable outcome for discrete lesions located at the ostium of all grafts and in the body of smaller saphenous vein grafts.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to document and analyze the incidence and consequences of complications of excimer laser coronary angioplasty.BackgroundExcimer laser coronary angioplasty has been reported to be a safe and feasible alternative or adjunct to conventional balloon angioplasty, but serious and unique complications have been observed.MethodsData on 1,595 interventions of excimer laser coronary angioplasty in 1,521 patients were analyzed, using a merged data base from the U.S. and European Percutaneous Excimer Laser Coronary Angioplasty (PELCA) registries.ResultsProcedural success was achieved in 89.3% of interventions. Stand-alone laser angioplasty was performed in 17.8% of interventions. Complications included dissection (22.0%), vasospasm (6.1%), filling defects (4.8%), abrupt reclosure (6.1%), embolization (2.3%), perforation (2.4%), arrhythmia (0.7%) and aneurysm formation (0.3%). Major complications were non-Q wave myocardial infarction (2.3%), Q wave myocardial infarction (1.0%), coronary artery bypass grafting (3.1%) and death (0.7%). Logistic regression analysis revealed correlation between dissections and the use of larger catheter size (p = 0.0005), high energy per pulse levels (p = 0.0001 for native vessels), lesion length > 10 mm (p = 0.001) and presence of a side branch (p = 0.01). The incidence of perforations was higher in women (p = 0.004), in treatment of total occlusions (p = 0.02) and in the presence of a side branch (p = 0.03). Fatal complications were correlated with patients with multivessel disease (p < 0.0001), patients with acute myocardial infarction (p = 0.0009) and older patients (> 70 years old, p = 0.004). The incidence of major complications decreased after performance of 50 laser angioplasty procedures at one institution (p = 0.02).ConclusionsThis analysis defines both the learning curve and the profile of complications for excimer laser angioplasty and provides insight into the selection of appropriate patients and proper performance of the procedure.

In many cases the choice of a revascularization procedure is clear-cut, but the gray areas are extensive. The decision depends on the severity of disease, the clinical presentation, and, to some extent, the patient's own preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic kidney disease is associated with an increased risk of ischemic and bleeding events after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The direct thrombin inhibitor bivalirudin reduces these combined events. We sought to assess whether this benefit was influenced by renal function. A meta-analysis of 3 randomized trials (n = 5,035) comparing bivalirudin with heparin during PCI, stratified by estimated creatinine clearance using the Cockcroft-Gault equation (>90 [n = 1,578], 90 to 60 [n = 2,163], 59 to 30 [n = 1,255], and <30 ml/min [n = 39]), was conducted. The composite end points of death, myocardial infarction or revascularization, hemorrhage, and combined ischemic or bleeding events were assessed. A common odds ratio for each creatinine clearance strata was estimated with a random-effects model. The interaction between renal impairment and benefit from bivalirudin was assessed. Adverse ischemic and bleeding events increased with decreasing renal function. The relative benefit of bivalirudin with respect to ischemic and bleeding events was maintained within each stratum. The absolute benefit in terms of ischemic and bleeding complications increased with decreasing creatinine clearance (normal 2.2%, mild 5.8%, moderate 7.7%, severe 14.4%; p trend <0.001, interaction p = 0.044). Renal dysfunction remains a prevalent risk factor for ischemic and bleeding events in patients who undergo PCI. Bivalirudin provides greater absolute benefit in patients with impaired renal function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of peer review has been the gold standard for evaluating medical science, but significant pressures from the recent COVID-19 pandemic, new methods of communication, larger amounts of research, and an evolving publication landscape have placed significant pressures on this system. A task force convened by the American College of Cardiology identified the 5 most significant controversies associated with the current peer-review process: the effect of preprints, reviewer blinding, reviewer selection, reviewer incentivization, and publication of peer reviewer comments. Although specific solutions to these issues will vary, regardless of how scientific communication evolves, peer review must remain an essential process for ensuring scientific integrity, timely dissemination of information, and better patient care. In medicine, the peer-review process is crucial because harm can occur if poor-quality data or incorrect conclusions are published. With the dramatic increase in scientific publications and new methods of communication, high-quality peer review is more important now than ever., Competing Interests: Funding Support and Author Disclosures Dr Kusumoto is chair of the Peer Review Task Force; and is chair of the ACC Scientific Publications Committee. Dr Bittl is a member of the ACC Scientific Publications Committee. Dr Creager is a member of the ACC Scientific Publications Committee. Dr Dauerman is associate editor of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology; has received research funding from Medtronic and Boston Scientific; and is a consultant for Medtronic and Boston Scientific. Dr Lala is deputy editor of the Journal of Cardiac Failure; and has received speaker honoraria from Zoll Medical and Abbott. Dr McDermott is deputy editor of JAMA; has received research funding from Regeneron and Helixmith; and has received other research support from Helixmith, ArtAssist, Hershey, Mars, Chromadex, and ResearveAge. Ms Varieur Turco is divisional senior director of publishing for the ACC. Dr Taqueti is immediate past chair of the ACC Scientific Publications Committee; and is chair of the ACC Digital Transformation Committee. Dr Fuster is editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology., (Copyright © 2023 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aim: The executive summary of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association/Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions coronary artery revascularization guideline provides the top 10 items readers should know about the guideline. In the full guideline, the recommendations replace the 2011 coronary artery bypass graft surgery guideline and the 2011 and 2015 percutaneous coronary intervention guidelines. This summary offers a patient-centric approach to guide clinicians in the treatment of patients with significant coronary artery disease undergoing coronary revascularization, as well as the supporting documentation to encourage their use., Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted from May 2019 to September 2019, encompassing studies, reviews, and other evidence conducted on human subjects that were published in English from PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Collaboration, CINHL Complete, and other relevant databases. Additional relevant studies, published through May 2021, were also considered. Structure: Recommendations from the earlier percutaneous coronary intervention and coronary artery bypass graft surgery guidelines have been updated with new evidence to guide clinicians in caring for patients undergoing coronary revascularization. This summary includes recommendations, tables, and figures from the full guideline that relate to the top 10 take-home messages. The reader is referred to the full guideline for graphical flow charts, supportive text, and tables with additional details about the rationale for and implementation of each recommendation, and the evidence tables detailing the data considered in the development of this guideline.

Competing Interests: Funding Support and Author Disclosures Dr Kusumoto is Chair of the Peer Review Task Force; Chair-elect of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Scientific Publications Committee; and President of the Heart Rhythm Society. Dr Bittl is a member of the ACC Scientific Publications Committee. Dr Creager is a member of the ACC Scientific Publications Committee. Dr Dauerman is an Associate Editor of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology; and has received research funding from and served as a consultant to Medtronic and Boston Scientific. Dr Lala is Deputy Editor of the Journal of Cardiac Failure; and has received speaker honoraria from Zoll Medical and Abbott. Dr McDermott is Deputy Editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association; has received research funding from Regeneron; and has received other research support from Helixmith, ArtAssist, Hershey, Mars, Chromadex, and ResearveAge. Mrs Varieur Turco is Divisional Senior Director of Publishing, ACC. Dr Taqueti is Chair of the ACC Scientific Publications Committee.

Interventional cardiologists who treat malfunctioning hemodialysis accesses play an important role in the life of patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). By collaborating with interventional nephrologists who currently perform the bulk of routine access angiographic procedures, interventional cardiologists can fill an important gap in the care of ESKD patients by performing urgent or emergent procedures that fall outside the schedule of an outpatient interventional nephrology laboratory to ensure that hemodialysis patients will not miss a hemodialysis session or get a temporary catheter. This paper reviews the pathophysiology of dialysis access failure and illustrates the catheter-based approaches used by interventional cardiologists to treat malfunctioning dialysis accesses., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to quantify the probability of increased mortality with paclitaxel compared with control in a dataset of 28 randomized controlled trials., Background: Analysis of data from 28 randomized controlled trials using conventional null-hypothesis statistical testing has produced the unexpected finding of a 68% increase in mortality at 2 years and a 93% increase at 3 to 5 years after using paclitaxel-eluting balloons and stents to treat femoropopliteal arterial disease, but no biologic explanation for increased mortality has been identified., Methods: A Bayesian sequential model was developed to quantify the probability of increased mortality 1, 2, and 3 to 5 years after treatment, and p values were replaced with meta-analytic Bayes factors (BFs), which provide decisive evidence at values >100 and very strong evidence at values of 32 to 100., Results: The evidence for increased mortality at 1 year (BF = 0.02), 2 years (BF = 8.5), and 3 to 5 years (BF = 14.6) was less than conclusive. All-cause mortality at 1 year was similar between the paclitaxel and control arms at 1 year (odds ratio: 0.92; 95% Bayesian credible interval: 0.53 to 1.53) and 2 years (odds ratio: 1.23; 95% Bayesian credible interval: 0.84 to 1.71) but was increased at 3 to 5 years (odds ratio: 1.43; 95% Bayesian credible interval: 1.01 to 1.90)., Conclusions: This study finds some support for increased mortality after using paclitaxel-eluting devices in femoropopliteal arterial disease, but the evidence is not unequivocal and may not sway skeptical investigators concerned about causation, unreported studies, or the post hoc analysis of trials underpowered for mortality., (Copyright © 2019 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)