title: BRAVISSIMO study: 12-month results from the TASC A/B subgroup.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The BRAVISSIMO study is a prospective, non-randomized, multicenter, multinational, monitored trial, conducted at 12 hospitals in Belgium and 11 hospitals in Italy. This manuscript reports on the BRAVISSIMO TASC A&B iliac lesion cohort, based on data collected up to the 13-month time point. The primary endpoint of the study is primary patency at 12 months, defined as a target lesion without a hemodynamically significant stenosis on duplex ultrasound (>50%, systolic velocity ratio no greater than 2.0) and without Target Lesion Revascularization (TLR) within 12 months.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between July 2009 and February 2010, a total of 190 patients who presented with TASC A or TASC B aorto-iliac lesions were included, of which 140 patients were enrolled in Belgium and 50 in Italy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The demographic data were comparable for the TASC A and TASC B patients groups. The number of occlusions, the average degree of stenosis, the average lesion length was significantly higher in the group of TASC B lesions, which is congruent with the TASC lesions definitions. Similarly, there were significantly more unilateral lesions in the TASC A group, compared to the TASC B group. The 12-month primary patency rate was 94.0% for TASC A lesions and 96.5% for TASC B lesions, which is not statistically significant. The 12-month primary patency rate was 92.9% in lesions treated with the Omnilink Elite stent, 97.1% in lesions treated with the Absolute Pro stent groups, and 100% in lesions treated with both stents.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings confirm that endovascular therapy, and more specifically primary stenting, is the preferred treatment for patients with TASC A/B aortoiliac lesions. Currently, we are collecting the 12-month data for the TASC C/D subgroup in the BRAVISSIMO study. Upon release of the results from this subgroup, we will be able to compare the results from both arms of this large-scale international study.
authors.affiliation: Department Vascular Surgery, A.Z. Sint-Blasius, Dendermonde, Belgium. marc.bosiers@telenet.be
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bosiers
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Deloose
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Callaert
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Verbist
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Keirse
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Peeters
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000792:Angiography; D001157:Arterial Occlusive Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D057510:Endovascular Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007083:Iliac Artery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D015607:Stents; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D018616:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Duplex; D014654:Vascular Patency