Published online Nov 26, 2018. doi: 10.4330/wjc.v10.i11.222
Peer-review started: August 14, 2018
First decision: September 7, 2018
Revised: September 8, 2018
Accepted: November 2, 2018
Article in press: November 2, 2018
Published online: November 26, 2018
Processing time: 103 Days and 16.7 Hours
To establish whether frequency-domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) is safe and effective in the evaluation and treatment of angiographically-intermediate coronary lesions (ICL)
Sixty-four patients with 2-dimensional quantitative coronary angiography (2D-QCA) demonstrating ICL were included. OCT imaging was performed. According to predetermined OCT criteria, patients were assigned to either of 2 groups: OCT-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or OCT-guided optimal medical therapy (OMT). The primary efficacy endpoint was to demonstrate the superiority and higher accuracy of FD-OCT compared to 2D-QCA in evaluating stenosis severity in patients with ICL. The primary safety endpoint was the incidence of 30-d major adverse cardiac events (MACE). Secondary endpoints included MACE at 12 mo and other clinical events.
Analysis of the primary efficacy endpoint demonstrates that 2D-QCA overestimates the stenosis severity of ICL in both the OCT-guided PCI and OMT groups, proving FD-OCT to be superior to and more precise than 2D-QCA in treating this subset of lesions. The primary safety endpoint was fully met with the incidence of 30-d MACE being nil in both the OCT-guided PCI and OCT-guided OMT groups. Incidences of secondary endpoints were found to be low in both arms, the only exception being the relatively high incidence of recurrent episodes of angina which was, however, very similar in the 2 groups.
FD-OCT is safe and effective in the evaluation and treatment of ICL. Larger studies are needed to firmly establish the efficacy and safety of FD-OCT in treating ICL across all coronary artery disease population subgroups.
Core tip: The management of intermediate coronary lesions (ICL), defined as a diameter stenosis of 40% to 70%, remains a therapeutic dilemma. The 2-dimensional representation of the arterial lesion by angiography is limited in guiding therapy. Frequency-domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) is an ultra-high resolution imaging technique that enables a detailed evaluation of the coronary lumen. Despite its undebatable superiority over angiography and other intravascular imaging techniques, the benefit of FD-OCT over its procedural risks in clinical practice is uncertain. The current study is the first to date to investigate whether FD-OCT is safe and effective in the evaluation of ICL, in guiding treatment, and optimizing procedural outcomes.