BACKGROUND Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) is a standard treatment option for the management of portal hypertension in liver cirrhosis. Since the introduction of covered stents, shunt patency has been greatly improved. However, it remains uncertain about whether covered stents could improve survival. A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials has been performed to comp...

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES We sought to compare the long-term clinical outcome of with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction treated with paclitaxel-eluting stents or everolimus-eluting stents and the influence of thrombectomy on outcomes. METHODS The ESTROFA-IM is a multicenter retrospective registry collecting consecutive patients with infarction treated with these stents in 16 center...

BACKGROUND Limited data are available on the long-term effects of contemporary drug-eluting stents versus contemporary bare-metal stents on rates of death, myocardial infarction, repeat revascularization, and stent thrombosis and on quality of life. METHODS We randomly assigned 9013 patients who had stable or unstable coronary artery disease to undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)...

Background—Drug-eluting stents significantly improved angiographic and clinical outcomes compared with bare metal stents in diabetic patients. However, a comparison of everolimus-eluting stents and sirolimus-eluting stents in diabetic patients has not been evaluated. Therefore we compared effectiveness of everolimus-eluting stents and sirolimus-eluting stents in patients with diabetes mellitus....

AIMS Patients with diabetes have increased risk of in-stent restenosis after coronary stent implantation owing to neointimal hyperplasia (NIH). The aim of the study was to evaluate the extent and distribution of NIH with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) after coronary artery stenting with sirolimus-eluting (Cypher) or paclitaxel-eluting (Taxus) stents in diabetic patients. METHODS AND RESULTS ...

The management of renal artery stenosis (RAS) remains controversial. While some evidence suggests that treatment with stent placement is beneficial, randomized trials have failed to demonstrate a significant benefit. Ongoing clinical trials should help to better define the role for stenting of RAS while avoiding limitations seen with earlier trials. When it comes to stenting for RAS, several st...

OBJECTIVE Factors influencing platelet accumulation around stents were to be investigated by an ex vivo flow chamber system. METHODS AND RESULTS Platelet accumulations on collagen surfaces under flow conditions were augmented in the presence of stents, especially at sites downstream from coil stents. Densitometric analysis revealed that 4.9+/-0.8 times more platelets accumulated downstream fr...

BACKGROUND The objective was to evaluate the role of risk factors and stent type for stent thrombosis (ST) using a large real world registry. METHODS AND RESULTS We evaluated all consecutive coronary stent implantations in Sweden from May 1, 2005, to June 30, 2007. All cases of ST, documented in the Swedish coronary angiography and angioplasty registry until September 21, 2008, were analyzed....

Endoscopic treatment of biliary strictures involving plastic stent placement has been used widely. The use of self-expandable metal stents (SEMSs) has been described for anastomotic strictures following liver transplantation (LT). This review aimed to assess and compare the efficacy of plastic stents with SEMS in LT patients. Information was retrieved regarding technical success, stricture reso...

BACKGROUND Sirolimus-eluting stents have recently been shown to reduce the risk of restenosis among patients who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Given that sirolimus-eluting stents cost about 4 times as much as conventional stents, and considering the volume of PCI procedures, the decision to use sirolimus-eluting stents has large economic implications. METHODS We performed ...