Bioresorbable everolimus-eluting vascular scaffold in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: Optical coherence tomography evaluation and clinical outcomes

Background: Bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) implantation is a new, promising treatment method of coronary artery disease. Preliminary data in patients with stable angina are encouraging. However, the utility of BVS was not sufficiently evaluated in the setting of acute thrombotic lesions. The aim of this study was an optical coherence tomography (OCT) assessment of acute procedural result of the everolimus-eluting BVS implantation in patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and evaluation of mid-term clinical outcomes. Methods: OCT examination was conducted in 23 STEMI patients who underwent primary angioplasty with BVS implantation. Off-line qualitative and quantitative coronary angiography and OCT analyses were performed by an independent core laboratory. Results: Successful procedural and clinical results were achieved in 95.7% of patients, and device success was observed in all patients. In OCT evaluation, most of the struts (95.4 +/- +/- 7.96%) were well apposed, 4.6 +/- 5.71% were classified as malapposed. The final minimum lumen diameter was 2.6 +/- 0.35 mm, minimum scaffold area was 6.9 +/- 1.54 mm(2) and final residual stenosis was 8.8 +/- 24.37%. Edge dissections were found in 3 (7.7%) lesions. Median follow-up period was 229 (interquartile range 199-248) days. One myocardial infarction, due to sub-acute stent thrombosis, occurred in a patient who discontinued pharmacotherapy. Conclusions: The study shows that everolimus-eluting BVS implantation in STEMI is safe and feasible. The OCT evaluation confirmed excellent acute performance with appropriate scaffold expansion and low rate of malapposition.