Comparison of Intravascular Imaging and Quantitative Coronary Angiography to Evaluate Neointimal Proliferation after Complex Lesion Stenting Section B Natural, exact, and applied sciences =

Unlike quantitative coronary angiography (QCA), intravascular imaging methods allow direct visualisation of the arterial wall. Our goal was to determine several intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) parameters of neointimal proliferation and stent endothelisation after complex lesion intervention compared to QCA. We examined 261 patients who had underwent percutaneous intervention with bare metal (BMS) or drug eluting stent (DES) implantation for complex coronary lesions and had IVUS or OCT images at six-month follow-up. Percent diameter stenosis (QCA) was 25.2 ± 16.0 in BMS vs 21.7 ± 17.4 in DES (P 0.05) while IVUS showed less neointima in DES (P < 0.05). Total number of uncovered stent struts per OCT image was 0.4 ± 0.8 while per IVUS image 1.2 ± 1.5 (P < 0.001). In conclusion, angiographic indexes correlate with volumetric intravascular parameters. Although IVUS was more sensitive than QCA to assess neointimal proliferation, the assessment of stent endothelisation was more precise using OCT.