363 Old but fashioned: IVUS and chromaflo guidance for definition of thrombosis mechanism

Aims Plaque rupture and plaque erosion are the main causes of coronary thrombosis. While the first one involves fibrous cap disruption, the second one is caused by loss of endothelial continuity. In selected cases with evidence of plaque erosion, antithrombotic therapy without stenting has been suggested as a possible option. OCT is considered the gold standard for definition of thrombosis mechanism and has recently been included in algorithms for evaluation and management of patients with ACS. Also, high definition IVUS was compared with OCT in defining plaque erosion showing promising results. However, the cost and the large amount of contrast medium needed for OCT performance make these diagnostic tools of scarce applicability in daily practice. Methods and results We herein describe the case of a young man acceding to the Cath Lab with the diagnosis of NSTEMI. After baseline angiography and IVUS confirmed presence of Thrombus (Figure 1A and B), thromboaspiration was successfully performed (Figure 1D). The definition of thrombosis mechanism, revealing plaque rupture, was then performed with IVUS and ChromaFlo devices (Figure 1C and E). Also, IVUS was used to optimize stent implantation. Conclusions Although requiring further confirmations, we believe that in selected cases IVUS and ChromaFlo could provide a more applicable first-line diagnostic tool to define thrombosis mechanism. 363 Figure 1Baseline angiographic and IVUS evaluation confirming presence of coronary thrombus (A, B). After successful performance of thromboaspiration (D), plaque rupture was revealed by IVUS and ChromaFlo (C).

Prognostic value of characteristics of plaque combined with residual syntax score among patients with STEMI undergoing primary PCI: an intravascular optical coherence tomography study

Aim The present study aimed to explore these characteristics, particularly thin-cap fibroatheroma (TCFA), in relation to residual syntax score (rSS) in patients who presented with acute MI. Methods and outcomes A total of 434 consecutive patients with MI aged ≥18 years who had STEMI underwent primary PCI. Notably, compared with other subgroups, the presence of TCFA in culprit lesions and a higher level of rSS, were significantly associated with MACE. When rSS was divided into three groups, high rSS levels were associated with a higher incidence of MACE, in the subgroups of without TCFA (P = 0.005), plaque erosion (P = 0.045), macrophage infiltration (P = 0.026), and calcification (P = 0.002). AUC of ROC curve was 0.794 and 0.816, whereas the AUC of the survival ROC was 0.798 and 0.846. Conclusion The results of this study could be used in clinical practice to support risk stratification. Trial registration This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT03593928.

Intrakoronare Bildgebung – wie die Plaque-Morphologie die Therapie personalisiert

Was ist neu? Management akutes Koronarsyndrom Im Rahmen der akuten Versorgung eines akuten Koronarsyndroms (ACS) gewinnt die intrakoronare Bildgebung (IKB) immer mehr an Bedeutung, da sie das weitere Prozedere maßgeblich beeinflussen kann. Sie erlaubt nicht nur die genauere Abgrenzung zwischen einem Typ-I- und Typ-II-Myokardinfarkt, sondern auch die Determinierung der das ACS auslösenden Pathophysiologie und – darauf aufbauend – auch des therapeutischen Prozederes. So kann die zweithäufigste ACS-Ursache, die Plaque-Erosion, mittlerweile nur pharmakologisch, ohne Koronarintervention, behandelt werden. Verbesserung des perkutanen koronaren Interventionsergebnisses Mit dem Ziel einer optimalen Stentexpansion und -apposition ist der durch die IKB gewonnene Einblick in die Plaque-Morphologie von besonderem Vorteil. Hierbei erlaubt die IKB eine genauere Darstellung von das PCI-Ergebnis beeinflussenden Plaquecharakteristika, speziell der koronaren Kalzifizierung. Mithilfe der IKB kann nicht nur die optimale Methode der Läsionspräparation gewählt werden, sondern auch die Stenttherapie optimiert werden, um so periprozedurale Risiken zu reduzieren. Risikostratifizierung bei koronarer Herzkrankheit Durch genauere In-vivo-Darstellung von Koronarplaques ermöglicht die IKB, Plaques zu identifizieren, welche ein besonders hohes Risiko haben, ein akutes Koronarsyndrom auszulösen, und erlaubt somit eine optimierte Risikostratifizierung und darauf ausgerichtete Therapien mit der Zielsetzung, die koronare Plaquestabilität zu verbessern.

A Novel Monocyte Subset as a Unique Signature of Atherosclerotic Plaque Rupture

The evaluation of monocyte subset distribution among acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients according to culprit coronary plaque morphology has never been explored. We evaluated whether there were significant differences in frequency of circulating monocyte subsets isolated from ACS patients according to optical coherence tomography (OCT) investigation of plaque erosion and rupture. We enrolled 74 patients with non-ST-elevation ACS (NSTE-ACS), 21 of them underwent OCT investigation of the culprit coronary plaque and local macrophage infiltration (MØI) assessment. As control, we enrolled 30 chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) patients. We assessed the frequency of monocyte subsets in the whole study population, in reliance on their CD14 and CD16 expression (classical, CM: CD14++CD16–; intermediates, IM: CD14++CD16+; non-classical, NCM: CD14+CD16++). Then, we tested the effect of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (a CD14 ligand) on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of NSTE-ACS patients, quantifying the inflammatory cytokine levels in cell-culture supernatants. Our data proved that monocyte subsets isolated from NSTE-ACS patients represent a peculiar biological signature of the pathophysiological mechanism lying beneath atherosclerotic plaque with a ruptured fibrous cap (RFC) as compared with plaque erosion. Moreover, the magnitude of LPS-mediated effects on IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-10 cytokine release in cell-culture supernatants appeared to be greater in NSTE-ACS patients with RFC. Finally, we described a fourth monocyte population never explored before in this clinical setting (pre-classical monocytes, PCM: CD14+CD16–) that was prevalent in NSTE-ACS patients as compared with CCS and, especially, in patients with RFC and culprit plaque with MØI.

Age and Phenotype of Patients With Plaque Erosion

Background A recent study reported that the outcome of patients with plaque erosion treated with stenting is poor when the underlying plaque is lipid rich. However, the detailed phenotype of patients with plaque erosion, particularly as related to different age groups, has not been systematically studied. Methods and Results Patients with acute coronary syndromes caused by plaque erosion were selected from 2 data sets. Demographic, clinical, angiographic, and optical coherence tomography findings of the culprit lesion were compared between 5 age groups. Among 579 erosion patients, male sex and current smoking were less frequent, and hypertension, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease were more frequent in older patients. ST‐segment–elevation myocardial infarction was more frequent in younger patients. Percentage of diameter stenosis on angiogram was greater in older patients. The prevalence of lipid‐rich plaque (27.3% in age <45 years and 49.4% in age ≥75 years, P <0.001), cholesterol crystal (3.9% in age <45 years and 21.8% in age ≥75 years, P =0.027), and calcification (5.5% in age <45 years and 54.0% in age ≥75 years, P <0.001) increased with age. After adjusting risk factors, younger patients were associated with the presence of thrombus, and older patients were associated with greater percentage of diameter stenosis and the presence of lipid‐rich plaque and calcification. Conclusions The demographic, clinical, angiographic, and plaque phenotypes of patients with plaque erosion distinctly vary depending on age. This may affect the clinical outcome in these patients. Registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifiers: NCT03479723, NCT02041650.