CBD oil doesn’t reduce pain after common treatment for urinary stones

Treatment with an FDA-approved cannabidiol (CBD) oil product does not lower pain scores after surgical treatment and stent placement for patients with urinary stones, reports a clinical trial in the April issue of The Journal of Urology®, an Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

Fostering Innovation in Congenital Interventional Cardiology

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is evaluating several novel devices for congenital heart disease—and recently performed the world’s first implant of a novel stent for babies. Since joining Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in August as the Director of Congenital Interventional Catheterization, Darren Berman, MD, has been expanding the scope of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab to include many of the newest catheter-based treatments for children and young adults with congenital heart disease.

Patients With Diabetes Undergoing PCI Have Less Target Lesion Failure With Amphilimus-eluting Stents

Results from SUGAR, a randomized, controlled, multicenter trial conducted exclusively in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and with minimum exclusion criteria, found that amphilimus-eluting stents (AES) were superior to zotarolimus-eluting stents (ZES) with regard to target lesion and target vessel failure composite outcomes at one year.

Study Finds That PCI Guided by FFR Did Not Meet Noninferiority for One-Year Outcomes Compared to Bypass Surgery

The primary results of the Fractional Flow Reserve Versus Angiography for Multivessel Evaluation (FAME) 3 trial found that percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) guided by fractional flow reserve (FFR) did not meet noninferiority for one-year adverse events compared to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients with three-vessel coronary artery disease. Patients with a low SYNTAX score (which measures the complexity of coronary artery disease) had less incidence of adverse events compared to those with intermediate or high SYNTAX scores, and in this cohort of patients PCI performed more favorably.

What Patients Know About Their Implanted Coronary Stents: Not Enough, According to Morristown Medical Center Study

Fewer than half (48%) of patients receiving a heart stent, or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), had the provided stent card with them when surveyed at a later date, according to researchers at Atlantic Health System’s Morristown Medical Center. Even when they had their stent cards, most patients were unable to identify the type of stent they had, which blood vessel it was in, or the date of the previous procedure. Eighty-eight percent of patients did have their smartphone, however. The study will be presented as a moderated poster the morning of May 15, during the American College of Cardiology 70th Annual Scientific Session (ACC.21).

Genetic testing proves beneficial in prescribing effective blood thinners

A new research paper funded in part by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) shows a clear advantage of genetic testing in helping health care providers choose the appropriate anti-platelet drug. Testing helps determine if a patient carries genetic variants in CYP2C19 that cause loss of its function. These variants interfere with the body’s ability to metabolize and activate clopidogrel, an anti-platelet medication.

Randomized Trial Reports Outcomes with Novel, Low Profile Fixed-Wire Drug-Eluting Stent that Facilitates Transradial Access

The OPTIMIZE randomized trial comparing a novel, low-profile drug-eluting stent (DES) facilitating transradial access (TR) and direct stenting (DS) to existing DES did not establish non-inferiority of the new stent based on the prespecified study statistical analysis plan, likely due to the definition of periprocedural target vessel myocardial infarction (TVMI) coupled with a large proportion of high-sensitive cardiac troponin assays used in the trial.

Randomized Clinical Trial Finds No Mortality Risk or Benefit Associated with Drug-Coated Devices in the Treatment of Peripheral Artery Disease

A large subgroup analysis of a randomized clinical trial showed neither a mortality risk nor benefit associated with the use of paclitaxel drug-coated devices (DCD) in the treatment of peripheral artery disease (PAD). The study also found that the benefit of rivaroxaban use on reducing ischemic limb and cardiovascular outcomes was consistent regardless of whether a DCD was used.

Randomized Trial Comparing a Nano-Coated Coronary Stent and Shorter DAPT Did Not Meet Non-Inferiority Criteria for Thrombotic Events

For patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) that also require oral anticoagulation, treatment with a nanotechnology polymer-coated stent plus 14-day dual anti-platelet therapy (DAPT) did not reduce bleeding or establish non-inferior outcomes for thrombotic events compared with a drug-eluting stent (DES) and standard three or six-month DAPT therapy.

Physiology-guided Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Optimization Strategy May Lead to Improved Outcomes

Results from the randomized controlled TARGET FFR trial show that while a physiology-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) optimization strategy did not achieve a significant increase in the proportion of patients with final FFR ≥0.90, it reduced the proportion of patients with a residual FFR ≤0.80 following PCI.

Meta-Analysis of Bivalirudin vs. Heparin in Patients with MI Examines Mortality and Bleeding Rates

An individual patient data pooled analysis comparing the use of bivalirudin versus heparin in heart attack patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) found that bivalirudin use was associated with similar overall rates of 30-day mortality across all heart attack patients, but lower rates of serious bleeding events. Moreover, mortality was reduced in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) who were treated with a post-PCI bivalirudin infusion.

TCT Connect Agenda Now Available

The TCT Connect agenda is now available online. TCT, the annual scientific symposium of CRF and the world’s premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine, will take place online October 14-18. Every year, TCT features major medical research breakthroughs and gathers leading researchers and clinicians from around the globe to present and discuss the latest evidence-based research in the field.

A Great New Way to Paint 3D-Printed Objects

Rutgers engineers have created a highly effective way to paint complex 3D-printed objects, such as lightweight frames for aircraft and biomedical stents, that could save manufacturers time and money and provide new opportunities to create “smart skins” for printed parts. The findings are published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

Robot Uses Artificial Intelligence and Imaging to Draw Blood

Rutgers engineers have created a tabletop device that combines a robot, artificial intelligence and near-infrared and ultrasound imaging to draw blood or insert catheters to deliver fluids and drugs. Their research results, published in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence, suggest that autonomous systems like the image-guided robotic device could outperform people on some complex medical tasks.

Ticagrelor Without Aspirin Three Months After Successful PCI and DAPT Reduces Major Bleeding Without Increasing the Risk of Adverse Events

New data from the randomized, placebo-controlled TWILIGHT trial found that compared to ticagrelor plus aspirin, ticagrelor monotherapy reduces bleeding events without increasing the risk of death, myocardial infarction, or stroke in high-risk patients who have undergone successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and completed three months of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT).