Trans-coronary Pacing via Rota Wire Prevents Bradycardia During Rotational Atherectomy: A Case Report

Back ground Rotational atherectomy (RA) is used for plaque modification in patients with heavily calcified coronary lesions. RA can induce significant bradycardia or atrioventricular block requiring for temporary pacemaker insertion. In this report, we present a case of trans-coronary pacing via a Rota wire to prevent bradycardia during RA in the proximal right coronary artery (RCA). Case summary A 72-year-old woman with a one month history of worsening effort angina was admitted to our hospital. Computed tomography coronary angiography disclosed significant coronary stenosis with severe calcification in proximal RCA. Coronary angiography revealed significant coronary stenosis with severe calcification in the proximal RCA. Subsequently, percutaneous coronary artery intervention was performed under the guidance of intravascular ultrasound(IVUS). The pull-back IVUS showed a circumferential calcified lesion in the proximal RCA, that was treated using RA, which induced significant bradycardia requiring temporary pacemaker insertion. Immediately, trans-coronary pacing was provided via a Rota wire placed in the far distal RCA; this was used for back-up pacing during RA. RA was completed by safely modifying the calcified lesion. After successful debulking of the calcified lesion, we dilated with a balloon, and a drug-eluting stent was implanted at the proximal RCA. Final IVUS and angiography showed good stent apposition and expansion. we did not observe any serious intraprocedural complications. Discussion RA is used for plaque modification in patients with heavily calcified coronary lesions. RA can induce significant bradycardia or atrioventricular block requiring for temporary pacemaker insertion via the transvenous route. This method could be an effective method to prevent bradycardia during RA.

The “needle re-entry” technique for infrainguinal arterial calcified occlusive lesions

Background Vascular calcification is a predictor of poor clinical outcome during and after endovascular intervention. Guidewire crossing techniques and devices have been developed, but chronic total occlusions (CTOs) with severe calcification often prevent subintimal re-entry. We propose a novel guidewire crossing approach combined needle rendezvous with balloon snare technique, named the “needle re-entry” technique, for treatment of complex occlusive lesions. Main text A 73-year-old female with severe claudication in her right calf with ankle brachial index of 0.62, and a computed tomography angiogram showed a long occlusion with diffuse calcification in superficial femoral artery. She was referred to our department to have peripheral interventions. Since the calcified vascular wall of the lesion prevented the successful re-entry, the “needle re-entry” was performed. First, a retrograde puncture of the SFA, distally to the occlusion, was performed and an 0.018-in. guidewire with a microcatheter was inserted to establish a retrograde fashion. Second, an antegrade 5.0-mm balloon was advanced into a subintimal plane and balloon dilation at 6 atm was maintained. Third, an 18-gauge needle was antegradely inserted from distal thigh to the dilated 5.0-mm balloon. After confirming a balloon rupture by the needle penetration, we continued to insert the needle to meet the retrograde guidewire tip. Then, a retrograde 0.014-in. guidewire was carefully advanced into the needle hole, named the “needle rendezvous” technique. After further guidewire advancement to accomplish a guidewire externalization, the needle was removed. Finally, since the guidewire was passing through the 5.0-mm ruptured balloon, the balloon was withdrawn, and the guidewire was caught with the balloon and successfully advanced into the antegrade subintimal space, named the “balloon snare” technique. After the guidewire was advanced into the antegrade guiding sheath and achieved a guidewire externalization, an endovascular stent graft and an interwoven stent were deployed to cover the lesion. After postballoon dilation, an angiography showed a satisfactory result without complications. No restenosis, reintervention, and limb loss have been observed for one year follow-up period after this technique. Conclusions The “needle re-entry” technique is a useful guidewire crossing technique to revascularize femoropopliteal complex CTOs with severe calcification which prevent the achievement of guidewire crossing with the conventional procedures.

Incremental Diagnostic Value of CT Fractional Flow Reserve Using Subtraction Method in Patients with Severe Calcification: A Pilot Study

Although on-site workstation-based CT fractional flow reserve (CT-FFR) is an emerging method for assessing vessel-specific ischemia in coronary artery disease, severe calcification is a significant factor affecting CT-FFR’s diagnostic performance. The subtraction method significantly improves the diagnostic value with respect to anatomic stenosis for patients with severe calcification in coronary CT angiography (CCTA). We evaluated the diagnostic capability of CT-FFR using the subtraction method (subtraction CT-FFR) in patients with severe calcification. This study included 32 patients with 45 lesions with severe calcification (Agatston score >400) who underwent both CCTA and subtraction CCTA using 320-row area detector CT and also received invasive FFR within 90 days. The diagnostic capabilities of CT-FFR and subtraction CT-FFR were compared. The sensitivities, specificities, positive predictive values (PPVs), and negative predictive values (NPVs) of CT-FFR vs. subtraction CT-FFR for detecting hemodynamically significant stenosis, defined as FFR ≤ 0.8, were 84.6% vs. 92.3%, 59.4% vs. 75.0%, 45.8% vs. 60.0%, and 90.5% vs. 96.0%, respectively. The area under the curve for subtraction CT-FFR was significantly higher than for CT-FFR (0.84 vs. 0.70) (p = 0.04). The inter-observer and intra-observer variabilities of subtraction CT-FFR were 0.76 and 0.75, respectively. In patients with severe calcification, subtraction CT-FFR had an incremental diagnostic value over CT-FFR, increasing the specificity and PPV while maintaining the sensitivity and NPV with high reproducibility.

ULSOSEAL Technique: A Unique Technique to Achieve Hemostasis Using ExoSeal in High-Risk Patients after Common Femoral Artery Puncture

This study aimed to assess the safety and feasibility of the ULtrasound-guided uSe Of exoSEAL technique (ULSOSEAL technique) in patients at a high risk of complications following the use of ExoSeal. ExoSeal is a novel, completely extravascular hemostatic device that can treat punctures of the common femoral artery; however, it is not preferable for use in cases that require hemostasis of complex puncture sites. From November 2019 to August 2020, the ULSOSEAL technique was performed in 35 patients with implanted stents (6 patients, 17%), severe calcification (32 patients, 91%), and plaque (7 patients, 20%) around the puncture site; the presence of these conditions is usually undesirable when using ExoSeal. The antegrade approach was used in 22 patients (71%). The size of the ExoSeal used was 5 Fr (13 patients, 37%), 6 Fr (21 patients, 60%), and 7 Fr (1 patient, 2%). Technical success was achieved in 34 patients (97%), while ExoSeal malfunction occurred in 1 patient. There was no incidence of vessel occlusion, pseudoaneurysm, arteriovenous fistula, infection, and secondary bleeding. One patient developed a hematoma (>5 cm in size); however, it occurred before the use of ExoSeal due to side leakage from the inserted sheath. The ULSOSEAL technique was safe and feasible for hemostasis in patients who were considered unsuitable for the ExoSeal device.

Automatic detection of vessel structure by deep learning using intravascular ultrasound images of the coronary arteries

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) is a diagnostic modality used during percutaneous coronary intervention. However, specialist skills are required to interpret IVUS images. To address this issue, we developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) program that categorizes vessel components, including calcification and stents, seen in IVUS images of complex lesions. When developing our AI using U-Net, IVUS images were taken from patients with angina pectoris and were manually segmented into the following categories: lumen area, medial plus plaque area, calcification, and stent. To evaluate our AI’s performance, we calculated the classification accuracy of vessel components in IVUS images of vessels with clinically significantly narrowed lumina (< 4 mm2) and those with severe calcification. Additionally, we assessed the correlation between lumen areas in manually-labeled ground truth images and those in AI-predicted images, the mean intersection over union (IoU) of a test set, and the recall score for detecting stent struts in each IVUS image in which a stent was present in the test set. Among 3738 labeled images, 323 were randomly selected for use as a test set. The remaining 3415 images were used for training. The classification accuracies for vessels with significantly narrowed lumina and those with severe calcification were 0.97 and 0.98, respectively. Additionally, there was a significant correlation in the lumen area between the ground truth images and the predicted images (ρ = 0.97, R2 = 0.97, p < 0.001). However, the mean IoU of the test set was 0.66 and the recall score for detecting stent struts was 0.64. Our AI program accurately classified vessels requiring treatment and vessel components, except for stents in IVUS images of complex lesions. AI may be a powerful tool for assisting in the interpretation of IVUS imaging and could promote the popularization of IVUS-guided percutaneous coronary intervention in a clinical setting.

MO563HIGH DIALYSATE MAGNESIUM AND CORONARY ARTERY CALCIFICATION IN MAINTENANCE HEMODIALYSIS PATIENTS*

Background and Aims Cardiovascular calcification is highly prevalent among patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Low normal serum magnesium has been linked to a more severe degree of vascular calcification and a decrease in patient survival. An inhibitory effect of extracellular magnesium on osteogenic transformation of vascular smooth muscle cells and the upregulation of anti-calcification protein have been confirmed in vitro. Increased dialysate magnesium concentration has also been shown to lower calcification propensity of the serum of maintenance hemodialysis (HD) patients. Method This study is an investigator initiated, single-blinded, parallel-group, matched case-control clinical trial that investigated the effect of high dialysate magnesium concentration for 24 weeks on the progression of coronary artery calcification (CAC) in maintenance HD patients. The changes in laboratory data and bone mineral density (BMD) were also examined. Seventy-six ESRD patients underwent CAC screening by multi-slice computed tomography and BMD measurement by dual-x-ray absorptiometry. Only patients with Agatston score&gt;300 were included. They were matched according to the initial CAC score that fell within 20% of one another. Twenty patients were assigned to high dialysate magnesium concentration of 1.75 mEq/L and the matched controls were kept on standard dialysate magnesium concentration of 0.7 mEq/L. CAC and BMD measurements were repeated after 24 weeks. Laboratory data were obtained prior to dialysis at study entry, 8-week intervals during the study and 2 weeks after the study ended. Results There were no significant differences in age, sex, BMI, underlying diseases, dialysis vintage, medications, baseline CAC scores and BMD. The median baseline CAC Agatston score (Volume score) were 1923 (720) and 1672 (785) in the standard and high dialysate groups, respectively. At the end of the study, a significant increase in the CAC score was observed in both groups. Because majority of the included patients had severe calcification burden at baseline, patients were categorized into 2 subgroups using the median baseline CAC Agatston (1600) and Volume scores (700) as cut-offs. Among patients with CAC Agatston score &lt;=1600, CAC score increased significantly in the standard dialysate magnesium group (P&lt;0.01) but was stable in the high dialysate magnesium group (P=0.33). Among patients with CAC Agatston score &gt;1600, the severity of CAC worsened in both groups. The progression of CAC was analyzed by the difference between the follow-up and the baseline square root transformed Agatston and Volume scores. In subgroup of patients with less severe calcification, more patients in the standard dialysate magnesium group progressed compared to the high dialysate magnesium group (P=0.03). In subgroup of patients with more severe calcification, the number of progressors were comparable among the 2 groups. Serum and ionized magnesium levels increased substantially during the study and returned to baseline after the return to standard dialysate magnesium concentration. The highest predialysis serum magnesium was 3.8 mg/dL. Most patients who received high dialysate magnesium reported the disappearance of symptoms of muscle cramps (P=0.01) and requested the high dialysate magnesium be continued after the end of the study. There were no significant changes in serum calcium, phosphate or PTH levels. The decline in BMD was observed in both groups but the difference did not reach statistical significance. Conclusion High dialysate magnesium was well tolerated and could ameliorate the progression of CAC in maintenance HD patients with mild to moderate vascular calcification.

Midterm Outcomes after Primary Stenting in Treatment of Atherosclerotic Iliac Arteries

IntroductionThe purpose of this study was to report the midterm outcomes of primary stenting of iliac arteries with additional factors which affect the outcome and to compare the results between patients with simple and complex aorta iliac occlusive disease (AOID).Material and methodsFrom January 2015 and March 2018, the study consisted of 103 lesions in 93 patients with common iliac artery (CIA) and/or external iliac artery (EIA) lesions which accompanied with severe claudication or critical limb ischemia. Balloon-expandable stents (BMS), self-expandable stents (SES) and covered stents (CS) were used to treat the lesions.ResultsLesions of 93 patients that were in CIA and/or EIA and treated with ET were included to the study (n=103). Seventy-one (68.9%) lesions were classified as simple AIOD group (TASCII A-B) while 32(31.1%) were classified as complex AIOD (TASCII C-D) group. In 72.8% of the lesions only mild calcification was detected while 27.2% lesions had moderate or severe calcification. Mean stent diameter for CIA position was 8.26±0.8mm and for EIA position was 7.52±0.8mm. Mean lesion length in patients treated with BMS were 52.5±21.0mm while SES were 63.6±28.3(p=0.03). Technical success was achieved in 101(98.1%) lesions. Significant differences in primary (93% vs 63%) and secondary (98% vs 82%) patency rates at 24 months were found between patients in simple and complex AIOD group (p<0.001 p=0.001)ConclusionsConclusion: In our study, it was found that the primary stenting in patients who had AIOD had satisfactory results with high immediate success, low complication rates and acceptable midterm outcomes.

Cavitron ultrasonic surgical aspirator for mitral annular decalcification

Mitral valve surgery can be especially difficult in patients with mitral annular calcification. Not only is it associated with higher morbidity and mortality, but there is no consensus strategy for the treatment of mitral annular calcification, which may render some patients inoperable. We describe a case of severe mitral annular calcification successfully treated with the cavitron ultrasonic surgical aspirator. We demonstrate the proper technique for and the efficacy of using this instrument for decalcification of the mitral annulus. The video tutorial includes the patient presentation, preoperative and postoperative imaging, and the proper surgical technique for cavitron ultrasonic surgical aspirator-assisted mitral annular decalcification. With the proper technique, the cavitron ultrasonic surgical aspirator may mitigate the risk of surgical complications associated with severe calcification of the mitral annulus.