Angiographic and clinical outcome of percutaneous coronary intervention for in-stent restenosis of bifurcated lesions.

AIMS Restenosis and bifurcated lesions represent technically challenging lesions for percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI). Data regarding procedural and clinical outcome of re-PCI for restenosis of stented bifurcated lesions are lacking. Our aims were to evaluate angiographic and procedural results and one-year clinical outcome of PCI for restenosis of stented bifurcated lesions. METHODS AND RESULTS Consecutive patients undergoing PCI for restenosis of one bifurcated lesion previously treated by stent implantation at our centre entered the study. The primary endpoint was angiographic and procedural success, defined as final residual stenosis ≤30% in the main vessel with TIMI 3 flow in both MV and side branch, and stenosis ≤50% in the SB without death, myocardial infarction or target vessel revascularisation during hospitalisation. The secondary endpoint was the incidence of major adverse cardiac events at one-year clinical follow-up. The study population included 64 patients treated by PCI on a single restenotic bifurcated lesion. Angiographic and procedural success was achieved in 61 cases (95.3%) whereas the three cases of failure were due to SB residual stenosis >50%. At one year, MACE rate was 18.7% (12/64) with rates of cardiac death, MI and TVR of 1.6% (1/64), 6.2% (4/64) and 18.7% (12/64), respectively. No cases of stent thrombosis occurred. Patients treated by a single drug-eluting stent (DES) on main vessel (MV) had a significant lower rate of MACE at one year as compared to patients treated with balloon only PCI or by double-stenting technique or with a BMS, irrespective of the strategy adopted: 4/37 (10.8%) vs. 8/27 (29.6%); p=0.04. CONCLUSIONS PCI in restenotic bifurcated lesions can be a good treatment option with high rates of angiographic and procedural success and an acceptable rate of long-term MACE. The use of a single DES implantation may be a promising strategy as it is associated with lower rates of MACE in the long term.