Introduction:
Previous meta-analyses have reported reduced cardiovascular mortality and myocardial infarction in intravascular ultrasound-guided (IVUS) stent implantation in comparison to angiography-only approach. However, these studies have unanimously excluded patients with unprotected left-main coronary artery (LMCA) disease, questioning its widespread applicability. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the prognostic significance of IVUS-guided LMCA intervention.
Methods:
Studies comparing clinical outcomes between IVUS-guided and angiography-only percutaneous LMCA intervention were identified through PubMed, Cochrane and EMBASE databases until June, 2020. Data was analyzed using a random effect model to calculate the relative odds of all-cause death, cardiac death, left-main revascularization, myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis and stroke.
Results:
A total of 13 studies comprising 7680 patients were included. The odds of all-cause death (OR 0.6, 95%CI 0.47-0.78; p<0.0001), cardiac death (OR 0.37, 95%CI 0.26-0.54; p<0.00001), left-main revascularization (OR 0.63, 95%CI 0.45-0.89; p=0.009) and myocardial infarction (OR 0.77 [95%CI 0.60-0.98; p=0.04]) were significantly lower in patients who underwent IVUS-guided LMCA stent implantation compared to angiography-only approach. There was no significant difference observed in the relative odds of stent thrombosis (OR 0.57, 95%CI 0.31-1.05; p=0.07) and stroke (OR 1.7, 95%CI 0.56-5.14; p=0.35) between the two arms at least 1-year of the index procedure. A subgroup analysis based on study design and sensitivity analysis based on the characteristics of the included studies mirrored the pooled results.
Conclusion:
IVUS-guided LMCA intervention is associated with overall improved cardiovascular outcomes than angiography-only approach. Large scale randomized controlled trials are needed to validate our findings.
Regarding "Ultrasound-guided Microwave Ablation in the Management of Symptomatic Uterine Myomas: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis"
