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.

Study on the characteristics of coronary calcification by Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS)

Background: Percutaneous coronary angiography is considered the "gold standard" for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease and provides the necessary anatomical information to provide appropriate treatment. The limitation of coronary angiography is the accurate assessment of calcified coronary lesions. Intravascular ultrasonography has many advantages in the assessment of calcified coronary lesions. Methods: The descriptive clinical study. Evaluation of calcified coronary artery lesions by intravascular ultrasound Results: From January 2019 to December 2019, at the Hanoi Heart Institute, 64 patients had 64 coronary artery lesions surveyed by intravascular ultrasound. There were 42 (65,6%) calcified lesions assessed by IVUS and 25 (39,1%) calcified lesions were detected by coronary angiography. In addition, the location of calcified were revealed more in the LAD compared to other: LAD 60%, LCx 24%, RCA 12% and LM 4%. Conclusion: IVUS calcification detection rate is higher than coronary angiography. The most common site of calcification in the LAD.

Comparison of the Agatston score acquired with photon-counting detector CT and energy-integrating detector CT: ex vivo study of cadaveric hearts

The purpose of this study was to compare the correlation and agreement between AS derived from either an energy-integrating detector CT (EID-CT) or a photon-counting detector CT (PCD-CT). Reproducibility was also compared. In total, 26 calcified coronary lesions (from five cadaveric hearts) were identified for inclusion. The hearts were positioned in a chest phantom and scanned in both an EID-CT and a prototype PCD-CT. The EID-CT and PCD-CT acquisition and reconstruction parameters were matched. To evaluate the reproducibility, the phantom was manually repositioned, and an additional scan was performed using both methods. The EID-CT reconstructions were performed using the dedicated calcium score kernel Sa36. The PCD-CT reconstructions were performed with a vendor-recommended kernel (Qr36). Several monoenergetic energy levels (50–150 keV) were evaluated to find the closest match with the EID-CT scans. A semi-automatic evaluation of calcium score was performed on a post-processing multimodality workplace. The best match with Sa36 was PCD-CT Qr36 images, at a monoenergetic level of 72 keV. Statistical analyses showed excellent correlation and agreement. The correlation and agreement with regards to the Agatston score (AS) between the two methods, for each position as well as between the two positions for each method, were assessed with the Spearman´s rank correlation. The correlation coefficient, rho, was 0.98 and 0.97 respectively 0.99 and 0.98. The corresponding agreements were investigated by means of Bland–Altman plots. High correlation and agreement was observed between the AS derived from the EID-CT and a PCD-CT. Both methods also demonstrated excellent reproducibility.

High-Definition Intravascular Ultrasound Versus Optical Frequency Domain Imaging for the Detection of Calcium Modification and Fracture in Heavily Calcified Coronary Lesion

Purpose While optical frequency domain imaging (OFDI) can delineate calcium modification and fracture, the capability of high-definition intravascular ultrasound (HD-IVUS) for detecting these remains unclear. This study evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of HD-IVUS for assessing calcium modification and fracture as compared to OFDI. Methods HD-IVUS and OFDI were used during orbital or rotational atherectomy procedures conducted for 21 heavily calcified coronary lesions in 19 patients. With OFDI assessment used as the gold standard, diagnostic accuracies of HD-IVUS for calcium modification and fracture were compared every 1 mm to the matched pre-stenting images (n=1,129). Calcium modification, as assessed by OFDI, was defined as polished and concave-shaped calcium. For HD-IVUS, calcium modification was defined as the presence of reverberation with concave-shaped calcium. In both assessments, the definition of calcium fracture was defined as a slit or complete break in the calcium plate. Results Calcified plaque was found in 86.4% of analyzed OFDI images. Calcium modification and fracture were detected in 20.6% and 11.0% of detected calcified plaques. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of HD-IVUS detection for calcium modification and fracture were 54.4%, 97.8%, 86.7%, 89.1% and 86.0%, 94.5%, 58.2%, 96.8%, respectively. Discordance cases between both assessments demonstrated that heterogeneous calcium visualized by OFDI, separated calcium and guide wire artifact can be misdiagnosed. Conclusion Diagnostic accuracies of HD-IVUS for assessing calcium modification and fracture were modest as compared to OFDI. These results suggest that OFDI guidance is more feasible during treatment of heavily calcified coronary lesions versus HD-IVUS guidance.

Study On Coronary Dissection Complication Caused by Uneven Rotational Atherectomy Due To Guidewire Bias for Severe Calcified Lesions

BACKGROUND In the treatment of coronary calcification by rotational atherectomy (ROTA), guidewire bias is often considered to lead to procedure associated coronary dissections or perforations. However, the actual meaning of guidewire bias is unclear, though it usually refers to the cross-section location of the intravascular imaging (IVI) catheter in the coronary artery. OBJECTIVES This study tentatively explores the quantitative criteria in optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging of guidewire bias which may cause ROTA induced coronary dissection. METHODS A total of twenty-one patients with severe calcified coronary lesions who has undergone ROTA treatment were enrolled in our study. These patients were detected by OCT successfully pre- and post-ROTA. All the observational coronary segments were analyzed cross-sectionally at every mm interval after manual coregistration of OCT imaging pre- and post-ROTA. ROTA related coronary dissection was the primary endpoint. RESULTS A total of 388 OCT cross-sectional images were effectively measured and analyzed for distribution and characteristics of plaque and OCT catheter location pre-ROTA, and the presence or absence of coronary dissections post-ROTA after manual coregistration. According to the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, distance from the center of OCT catheter to media at the bias direction (Dcmb) (area under the curve (AUC): 1.000, p<0.001, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.999 to 1.000) and touch angle (AUC: 0.988, p<0.001, 95%CI: 0.968 to 1.000) had a higher correlation with ROTA-related coronary dissection with the corresponding cutoff value of 0.720mm and 98.2º significantly. CONCLUSIONS Dcmb and touch angle detected by OCT are two very valuable and convenient independent predictors of ROTA-related coronary intimal dissections caused by guidewire bias.