Cutting balloon to optimize predilation for stent implantation: The COPS randomized trial

• Published in: Catheterization and cardiovascular interventions Vol. 101; no. 4; pp. 798 - 805
• Main Authors: Mangieri, Antonio, Nerla, Roberto, Castriota, Fausto, Reimers, Bernhard, Regazzoli, Damiano, Leone, Pier P., Gasparini, Gabriele L., Khokhar, Arif A., Laricchia, Alessandra, Giannini, Francesco, Casale, Fulvio, Bezzeccheri, Andrea, Briguori, Carlo, Colombo, Antonio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-03-2023
• Subjects: Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary; Calcification; Calcium; Coronary Angiography; Coronary artery; Coronary Artery Disease - therapy; coronary calcifications; cutting balloon; Humans; Implants; intravascular ultrasound imaging; Lesions; Meteorological balloons; percutaneous coronary intervention; percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty; Pressure; Stents; Treatment Outcome; percutaneous coronary intervention; cutting balloon; coronary calcifications; percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty; intravascular ultrasound imaging
• ISSN: 1522-1946; 1522-726X
• DOI: 10.1002/ccd.30603

Objectives
The objective of this study is to investigate the use of cutting balloon (CB) inflated at high pressure compared with noncompliant balloon (NCB) for the treatment of calcified coronary lesions.
Background
No data are available regarding the safety and efficacy of CB inflated at high pressure in coronary artery calcifications.
Methods
Patients with calcified lesions (more than 100° of calcium demonstrated at baseline intravascular ultrasound) were randomized. Primary endpoint of the study was the final minimal stent area (MSA) and stent symmetry in the calcific segment. Secondary endpoints included rate of device failure and the 1‐year rate of target lesion revascularization, target vessel revascularization, and major adverse cardiovascular events.
Results
From September 2019 to June 2021, a total of 100 patients were included and randomized; 13 patients were excluded for major protocol deviations. Lesions were complex (type B2/C n = 61 [71.2%]) with a mean arch of calcium of 266 ± 84°, a calcium length of 12 ± 6.6 mm. CB was inflated at comparable atmospheres when compared with NCB (18.3 ± 5 vs. 19 ± 4.5, p = 0.46). In the per‐protocol population, the final MSA at the level of the calcium site was significantly higher in the CB group (8.1 ± 2 vs. 7.3 ± 2.1, p = 0.035) with a higher eccentricity index achieved in the CB group (0.84 ± 0.07 vs. 0.8 ± 0.08, p = 0.013). Three device failure occurred in the CB group. One‐year follow‐up outcomes were comparable.
Conclusions
Treatment of calcified lesions with high‐pressure CB has a good safety profile and is associated with a larger MSA and higher eccentricity of the stent at the level of the calcium site compared with NCB.