Clopidogrel resistance is common in patients undergoing vascular and coronary interventions

Objectives “Clopidogrel resistance,” also defined as heightened platelet reactivity (HPR) while on clopidogrel therapy, may lead to a sub-optimal antiplatelet effect and a potential thrombotic event. There is limited literature addressing the prevalence of HPR in a large cohort of patients receiving either coronary or endovascular interventions. Methods In a large integrated healthcare system, patients with a P2Y12 reaction units (PRU) test were identified. HPR was defined as a PRU ≥ 200 during clopidogrel therapy. Vascular and coronary interventions were identified utilizing CPT codes, HPR prevalence was calculated, and Fischer’s exact test was used to determine significance. Results From an initial cohort of 2,405,957 patients (October 2014 to January 2020), we identified 3301 patients with PRU tests administered. Of these, 1789 tests had a PRU ≥ 200 (HPR overall prevalence, 54%). We then identified 1195 patients who underwent either an endovascular or coronary procedure and had a PRU measurement. This corresponded to 935 coronary and 260 endovascular interventions. In the coronary cohort, the HPR prevalence was 54% (503/935). In the vascular cohort, the HPR prevalence was 53% (137/260); there was no difference between cohorts in HPR prevalence ( p = 0.78). Conclusion “Clopidogrel resistance” or HPR was found to be present in nearly half of patients with cardiovascular disease undergoing intervention. Our data suggest HPR is more common in the cardiovascular patient population than previously appreciated. Evaluating patients for HPR is both inexpensive ($25) and rapid (< 10 min). Future randomized studies are warranted to determine whether HPR has a clinically detectable effect on revascularization outcomes.

Comparative assessment of risk of development of purulent septic infections in children after open and closed cardiac operations for congenital diseases

Purpose of the study. Comparative assessment of the incidence of nosocomial purulent-septic infections (PSI) in children after open and closed heart surgery for congenital defects.Materials and methods. 503 medical records of children after cardiac surgery were studied. GSI was identified according to epidemiological standard case definitions.Results. It turned out that the incidence rate of PSI in children after open heart surgery is an order of magnitude higher than after minimally invasive endovascular interventions. Hospital-acquired pneumonia most often occurs in children after operations.Conclusion. The increased incidence of PSI after open heart surgery, as compared to endovascular surgery, is due to a longer surgical intervention and the subsequent longer stay of patients in the intensive care unit, where such an epidemiologically significant procedure as artificial lung ventilation is performed.

Emergency interventional endovascular treatment for early disorder of arterial blood flow in the liver graft

Introduction. Liver transplantation is considered the most effective treatment for patients with end-stage liver disease. X-ray endovascular interventions show good results in the treatment of vascular complications after transplantation. The timing, indications and choice of treatment methods require clarification.Objective. To evaluate the safety and efficacy of emergency X-ray endovascular interventions for arterial complications in the early period after liver transplantation.Material and methods. In the period from October 2016 by July 2021, 88 liver transplants were performed. The graft was obtained from a posthumous donor in 75 cases, and from a living donor (right lobe of the liver) in 13 cases. Arterial complications were registered in 10 cases: thrombosis of the hepatic artery in 7 (8.0%), constriction in 3 (3.4%); 4 patients underwent retransplantation due to thrombosis. This analysis included 6 patients aged 27 to 51 years, including 4 men and 2 women. In the early postoperative period (0–14 days), according to laboratory parameters, ultrasound Doppler, and computed tomography with a contrast agent, an impairment of the arterial blood supply of the graft was revealed, for which the patients underwent emergency X-ray image-guided surgical endovascular interventions.Results. Restoration of adequate arterial blood supply to the liver graft was achieved in all six patients. At the time of this writing, the graft function and patency of the hepatic artery were preserved at follow-up periods of 6, 11, 12, 22 (in two patients), and 26 months with a median of 17 months. Four patients developed biliary complications that required surgical correction.Conclusion. X-ray image-guided endovascular interventions can be considered effective and relatively safe in the treatment of patients with arterial complications after liver transplantation. The period of graft arterial ischemia should be minimized as much as possible in order to prevent biliary complications.

Endovascular Therapy of 103 Aneurysms in the Internal Carotid Artery with Flow Re-Direction Endoluminal Device

Objective Intracranial aneurysms (AIs) are acquired vascular abnormalities that cause sacculations in the arterial wall and are present in ∼2 to 5% of the population. Among the treatment options are endovascular interventions with the use of flow-redirecting stents. In the present study, we analyzed the flow re-direction endoluminal device (FRED). Methods The present study aims to describe the results obtained from treatment with FRED in a series of patients affected by aneurysms in intracranial segments of the internal carotid artery. This is a cross-sectional, epidemiological, and observational study, whose data were obtained from the medical records of 81 patients from July 2018 to July 2019. Results One hundred and three internal carotid artery aneurysms were observed in 81 patients, with a prevalence of women (91.35%), small (< 10 mm) (89.33%), and located at the C6 level (73.78%) of the internal carotid artery. Of the 81 patients, 16 had multiple aneurysms in the same artery. One hundred and three FRED stents were used in the treatment. These patients underwent angiography 6 months after the surgery, using the O'Kelly-Marotta classification (OKM) to assess the effectiveness of the device, and it was observed that: in 91 of the 103 procedures (88.34%), the FRED was fully open and well positioned, thus restoring the arterial flow and leading to a statistically significant result. In addition, a low complication rate (4.85%) was found, with ischemic stroke being the main complication (1.94%). Conclusion This device can be an effective option in the treatment of internal carotid aneurysms since the aneurysm occlusion rate is excellent with a low rate of complications.

Anesthesiologic management of elective endovascular stenting of coronary artery

Introduction. Ischemic heart disease is the most common cause of death in the Russian Federation and in the world. One of the main methods of surgical treatment is endovascular stenting of the coronary arteries. Despite the minimally invasive method, there is a need to ensure sedation of the patient during the intervention. The main type of anesthetic aid for this procedure is monitored sedation.The aim of the study was to conduct a comparative analysis of the two most frequently used regimens of monitored sedation for elective endovascular interventions in world practice.Materials and methods. From January to July 2021, a prospective cohort study was conducted that included 70 patients. A comparison was made between the sedation group using phenazepam (n = 38) with the analgosedation group (n = 32) — a combination of sibazone and fentanyl. The comparison was made by the level of sedation (RASS scale), the severity of anginal pain at the stage of stenting of the coronary arteries according to the VAS; vital indicators of patients (sBP, dBP, avgBP, HR, SpO2).Results. The use of a monitored sedation regimen (sibazone + fentanyl) leads to deeper sedation according to the RASS and a more significant decrease in heart rate in patients at the stage of coronary artery stenting compared with the use of benzodiazepine (phenazepam) alone. Despite this, the incidence of anginal pain during the intervention did not differ statistically significantly between the comparison groups.Discussion. In this work, we compared two approaches to anesthetic protection when performing planned endovascular stenting of coronary arteries, which are most often used in foreign and domestic interventional practice.Conclusions. The use of analgosedation (sibazone + fentanyl) for elective endovascular stenting of coronary arteries has no significant advantages over sedation with benzodiazepines (phenozepam) for these types of interventions. It becomes obvious that it is necessary to continue the search for more effective and safer schemes of anesthetic management during planned endovascular stenting of coronary arteries.

Endovascular interventions in patients with multilevel steno-occlusive lesions of the infrarenal aortic arteries

Peripheral artery diseases are a worldwide medical and social problem. Approximately 30 % of patients with critical limb ischemia will undergo amputations and 25 % will die after 1 year. These patients require reconstructive and angioplastic interventions to preserve the limb. The aim of the study is to compare the effectiveness of different endovascular surgical technologies in patients with multilevel steno-occlusive lesions of the infrarenal aortic arteries. Materials and methods. Among 243 endovascular interventions, 51 patients were presented with multilevel steno-occlusive lesions of the infrarenal aortic arteries as a result of atherosclerosis obliterans. 42 patients (82.4 %) had two-level lesions and 9 (17.6 %) had three-level lesions. Results. Among 42 patients with a two-level lesion, 29 (56.9 %) ones had femoral arterial segment affection in combination with tibial artery affection. 13 (25.5 %) patients suffered from the lesion of the iliac segment in combination with the affection of the femoral segment arteries. In 9 (17.6 %) patients the lesions of three or more levels were determined: an iliac segment in combination with femoral and popliteal arteries – in 4 patients, and in 2 patients there were lesions of the femoral, popliteal and tibial segments, in 3 patients there was a lesion of the iliac, femoral, popliteal and tibial-foot segments in different degrees of severity. 7 balloon angioplasties and 13 stenting procedures were performed in two and three-level lesions in which the iliac arterial segment was affected. Only balloon angioplasty was used to revascularize the infraingvinal arterial segments. In the early postoperative period, the complications included thrombosis appeared in 6 patients. It was possible to restore the blood flow and save the limb only in 3 persons. For the other 3 ones, the attempts to restore the patency of the arteries were unsuccessful and resulted in the amputation of the lower extremity. Mortality in the early postoperative period was 3.9 % (2 death due to myocardial infarction). Conclusions. The persons with multilevel steno-obstructive lesions of the infrarenal aortic arteries are the most difficult category of patients with CLI. The surgical method of choice for patients with multilevel steno-occlusive lesions is the endovascular angioplasty with or without stenting.

Hemorrhagic complications after endovascular interventions and the effectiveness of vascular closure devices

Aim. To identify the factors associated with hemorrhagic complications after endovascular interventions, as well as to assess the effectiveness of vascular closure devices.Material and methods. The study included 423 patients after endo - vascular intervention with femoral arterial access: 118 — manual compression, 305 — hemostasis using vascular closure devices (VCDs). The development of following complications was recorded: retroperitoneal hematoma, false aneurysm, arteriovenous fistula, bleeding, thigh soft-tissue hematoma. Time to hemostasis, immobilization period, and length of stay were assessed.Results. The complication rate was lower in VCD group compared to manual hemostasis (2,95 vs 11%, p=0,021). In VCD group, hemostasis characteristics significantly differed from the manual compression group: time to hemostasis — 3,1 vs 22,3 min (p=0,001), immobilization duration — 4,1 vs 20 hours (p=0,001), length of stay — 4 vs 8 days (p=0,001), respectively. The risk of complications increased with following factors: anticoagulant therapy, female sex, age >65 years, diabetes, body mass index >30 kg/m2 , vascular access calcification, introducer diameter >6 Fr, prior puncture. There were following independent predictors of complications: glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor therapy, superficial or deep femoral artery puncture.Conclusion. VCDs significantly reduces the hemorrhagic complication rate and improves hemostasis parameters as compared to manual compression.