Assessment by Optical Coherence Tomography of Stent Struts Across Side Branch

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Late stent thrombosis (LST) after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation is a major clinical problem that has not been fully explained. Incomplete neointimal coverage of stent struts is an important morphometric predictor of LST, which may be associated with impaired healing and the absence of full coverage of struts at branch-point ostia. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was performed to compare 3 types of stents placed across side branches. METHODS AND RESULTS: At 9-month follow-up, the neointimal coverage of the struts of 58 stents across a side branch was measured by OCT (bare metal (BMS), n = 20; sirolimus-eluting (SES), n = 23; paclitaxel-eluting (PES), n = 15). According to the diameter ratio of side branch to main vessel, the side branches were classified as either large (ratio > 0.33) or small (ratio