Vries, A. de

A patient-level pooled analysis assessing the impact of the SYNTAX (Synergy between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with Taxus and Cardiac Surgery) score on 1-year clinical outcomes in 6,508 patients enrolled in contemporary coronary stent trials (Article)

2011-06-01T00:00:00Z

Objectives: This study sought to assess the impact of the SYNTAX (Synergy Between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With Taxus and Cardiac Surgery) score (SXscore) on clinical outcomes in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. Background: The SXscore has been demonstrated to have an ability to predict clinical outcomes in patients undergoing percutaneous revascularization. Current studies are limited by the relatively small number of patients in each SXscore group. Methods: Patient-level data from 7 contemporary coronary stent trials were pooled by an independent academic research organization (Cardialysis, Rotterdam, the Netherlands). Analysis was performed on a cohort of 6,508 patients treated with drug-eluting stents and who had calculated SXscores. Clinical outcomes in terms of death, myocardial infarction (MI), repeat revascularization, and major adverse cardiac events (MACE, a composite of death, MI, and repeat revascularization) were subsequently stratified according to SXscore quartiles: SXscoreQ1≤8 (n = 1,702); 8 < SXscoreQ2<15 (n = 1,528); 15 ≤ SXscoreQ3≥23 (n = 1,620); and SXscoreQ4<23 (n = 1,658). Results: One-year outcomes were available in 6,496 patients (99.8%). At 1-year follow-up, all clinical outcomes including mortality, MI, repeat revascularization, MACE, and definite and any stent thrombosis were all significantly higher in patients in the highest SXscore quartile. Similar trends were observed in a subgroup of 2,093 patients (32.2%) who presented with an ST- or nonST-segment elevation MI. The rate of MACE among patients with an SXscore >32 and ≤32 was 24.9% and 14.0%, respectively (p < 0.001). The SXscore was identified as an independent predictor of all clinical outcomes including mortality, MACE, and stent thrombosis (p < 0.001 for all). Conclusions: This study confirms the consistent ability of the SXscore to identify patients who are at highest risk of adverse events.

Value of age, creatinine, and ejection fraction (acef score) in assessing risk in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions in the 'All-Comers' LEADERS Trial (Article)

2011-02-01T00:00:00Z

Background-The age, creatinine, and ejection fraction (ACEF) score (age/left ventricular ejection fraction+1 if creatinine >2.0 mg/dL) has been established as an effective predictor of clinical outcomes in patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass surgery; however, its utility in "all-comer" patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention is yet unexplored. Methods and Results-The ACEF score was calculated for 1208 of the 1707 patients enrolled in the LEADERS trial. Post hoc analysis was performed by stratifying clinical outcomes at the 1-year follow-up according to ACEF score tertiles: ACEFlow≤1.0225, 1.0225< ACEFmid≤1.277, and ACEFhigh>1.277. At 1-year follow-up, there was a significantly lower number of patients with major adverse cardiac event-free survival in the highest tertile of the ACEF score (ACEFlow=92.1%, ACEFmid=89.5%, and ACEFhigh=86.1%; P=0.0218). Cardiac death was less frequent in ACEFlowthan in ACEFmidand ACEFhigh(0.7% vs 2.2% vs 4.5%; hazard ratio=2.22, P=0.002) patients. Rates of myocardial infarction were significantly higher in patients with a high ACEF score (6.7% for ACEFhighvs 5.2% for ACEFmidand 2.5% for ACEFlow; hazard ratio=1.6, P=0.006). Clinically driven target-vessel revascularization also tended to be higher in the ACEFhighgroup, but the difference among the 3 groups did not reach statistical significance. The rate of composite definite, possible, and probable stent thrombosis was also higher in the ACEFhighgroup (ACEFlow=1.2%, ACEFmid=3.5%, and ACEFhigh=6.2%; hazard ratio=2.04, P=0.001). Conclusions-ACEF score may be a simple way to stratify risk of events in patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention with respect to mortality and risk of myocardial infarction.

The Impact of Body Mass Index on the One Year Outcomes of Patients Treated by Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With Biolimus- and Sirolimus-Eluting Stents (from the LEADERS Trial) (Article)

2010-02-15T00:00:00Z

The aim of this analysis was to assess the effect of body mass index (BMI) on 1-year outcomes in patients enrolled in a contemporary percutaneous coronary intervention trial comparing a sirolimus-eluting stent with a durable polymer to a biolimus-eluting stent with a biodegradable polymer. A total of 1,707 patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention were randomized to treatment with either biolimus-eluting stents (n = 857) or sirolimus-eluting stents (n = 850). Patients were assigned to 1 of 3 groups according to BMI: normal (<25 kg/m(2)), overweight (25 to 30 kg/m(2)), or obese (>30 kg/m(2)). At 1 year, the incidence of the composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, and clinically justified target vessel revascularization was assessed. In addition, rates of clinically justified target lesion revascularization and stent thrombosis were assessed. Cox proportional-hazards analysis, adjusted for clinical differences, was used to develop models for 1-year mortality. Forty-five percent of the patients (n = 770) were overweight, 26% (n = 434) were obese, and 29% (n = 497) had normal BMIs. At 1-year follow-up, the cumulative rate of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, and clinically justified target vessel revascularization was significantly higher in the obese group (8.7% in normal-weight, 11.3% in overweight, and 14.5% in obese patients, p = 0.01). BMI (hazard ratio 1.47, 95% confidence interval 1.02 to 2.14, p = 0.04) was an independent predictor of stent thrombosis. Stent type had no impact on the composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, and clinically justified target vessel revascularization at 1 year in the 3 BMI groups (hazard ratio 1.08, 95% confidence interval 0.63 to 1.83, p = 0.73). In conclusion, BMI was an independent predictor of major adverse cardiac events at 1-year clinical follow-up. The higher incidence of stent thrombosis in the obese group may suggest the need for a weight-adjusted dose of clopidogrel.

Impact of Vessel Size on Angiographic and Clinical Outcomes of Revascularization With Biolimus-Eluting Stent With Biodegradable Polymer and Sirolimus-Eluting Stent With Durable Polymer. The LEADERS Trial Substudy (Article)

2009-09-01T00:00:00Z

Objectives: We assessed the impact of vessel size on outcomes of stenting with biolimus-eluting degradable polymer stent (BES) and sirolimus-eluting permanent polymer stent (SES) within a randomized multicenter trial (LEADERS). Background: Stenting of small vessels might be associated with higher rates of adverse events. Methods: "All-comer" patients (n = 1,707) were randomized to BES and SES. Post-hoc-stratified analysis of angiographic and clinical outcomes at 9 months and 1 year, respectively, was performed for vessels with reference diameter ≤2.75 mm versus >2.75 mm. Results: Of 1,707 patients, 429 patients in the BES group with 576 lesions and 434 patients in the SES group with 557 lesions had only small vessels treated (50.6% of the patient cohort). In patients with small vessels there was no significant difference in overall major adverse cardiac events (MACE) rate (12.1% vs. 11.8%; p = 0.89) or target lesion revascularization (TLR) rate (9.6% vs. 7.4%; p = 0.26) between BES and SES. The MACE and TLR rates in the small-vessel patient population were higher than in the large-vessel population. The TLR rate was 9.6% versus 2.6%, and MACE rate was 12.1% versus 7.1% for small versus large vessels in the BES arm (TLR: hazard ratio [HR] = 3.724, p = 0.0013; MACE: HR = 1.720, p = 0.0412). In the SES arm, TLR was 7.4% versus 5.1%, and MACE was 11.8% versus 10.3% in small versus large vessels (TLR: HR = 1.435, p = 0.2594; MACE: HR = 1.149, p = 0.5546). Conclusions: Prevalence of small vessel disease is high in an "all-comer" population with higher TLR and MACE rates. The BES and SES seem equivalent in treatment outcomes of small vessels in this "all-comer" patient population.

Air travel as a risk factor for introduction of measles in a highly vaccinated population (Article)

2008-10-29T00:00:00Z

Epidemiological and molecular investigation of two small measles clusters in The Netherlands in July/August 2007 revealed an association with travel by air of the index cases and nosocomial spread in the first cluster. Although these importations did not result in an outbreak among unvaccinated subjects, the observations illustrate the challenges for measles control in a country with high measles vaccination coverage (>95%) but with pockets of low coverage.

Does gestational duration within the normal range predict infant neuromotor development? (Article)

2008-10-01T00:00:00Z

Aim: To examine the extent to which infant neuromotor development is determined by gestational duration and birth weight within the normal range. Methods: The study was embedded within the Generation R Study, a population-based cohort in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. An adapted version of Touwen's Neurodevelopmental Examination was used to assess 3224 infants (1576 males and 1648 females) at corrected ages between 9 and 15 weeks. Non-optimal neuromotor development was defined as a score in the highest tertile. Results: Infant neuromotor development was significantly affected by gestational duration (odds ratio 0.8, 95% confidence interval 0.7;0.8). Adding a quadratic term of gestational duration to the model revealed a highly significant curvilinear association between gestational duration and neuromotor development; after adjusting for post-conceptional age this was still significant. Although babies with a 1 kg lower birth weight had a 30% higher risk of non-optimal neuromotor development, this association disappeared after adjustment for post-conceptional age. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that differences in infant neuromotor development can be explained even by variations in gestational duration within the normal range. If an infant is found to have minor neuromotor delays, account should be taken of this.

Coronary stent implantation in a septal perforator artery: case report and review of the literature. (Article)

2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

Septal perforator arteries play an important role in the blood supply of the anterior interventricular septum. Their intramyocardial course makes them inaccessible for coronary bypass revascularization. Although modern catheter-based techniques might be superior to coronary bypass grafting in offering the most complete revascularization in selected patient populations, a systematic review of the literature revealed a paucity of data regarding the outcome of these patients. The present report describes coronary stent implantation in a dominant septal perforator artery and the analysis of the anatomic relationship between the stent and the intraventricular septum using a new imaging technique, catheter-based intracardiac ultrasound.

Coronary stent implantation in a septal perforator artery: case report and review of the literature (Article)

2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

Molecular evolution of multiple recurrent cancers of the bladder (Article)

2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

We describe the reconstruction of bladder tumor development in individual patients spanning periods of up to 17 years. Genomic alterations detected in the tumors were used for hierarchical cluster analysis of tumor subclones. The cluster analysis highlights the clonal relationship between tumors from each patient. Based on the cluster data we were able to reconstruct the evolution of tumors in a genetic tree, where tumors with few aberrations precede those with many genetic insults. The sequential order of the tumors in these pedigrees differs from the chronological order in which the tumors appear. Thus, a tumor with few alterations can be occult for years following removal of a more deranged derivative. Extensive genetic damage is seen to accumulate during the evolution of the tumors. To explain the type and extent of genetic damage in combination with the low stage and grade of these tumors, we hypothesize that in bladder cancer pathogenesis an increased rate of mitotic recombination is acquired early in the tumorigenic process.