title: Rational use of rotational atherectomy in calcified lesions in the drug-eluting stent era: Review of the evidence and current practice.
abstract: Percutaneous coronary interventions of calcified coronary lesions are associated with worse clinical outcomes compared with noncalcified lesions and are still considered a technical challenge for interventional cardiologists. Rotational atherectomy (RA) can effectively optimize lesion preparation through plaque modification of heavily calcified coronary lesions. However, in conventional balloon angioplasty and bare metal stent eras, the use of RA was not associated with a significant improvement in restenosis and target lesion revascularization in patients with calcified lesions. Drug-eluting stents (DES) dramatically reduced the rates of restenosis and major adverse cardiac events. In the DES era, the need for RA is therefore questionable. Recently, some studies have reported clinical outcomes of patients with calcified lesions treated with DES and RA. In this article, we aim to critically review results from these randomized and observational clinical studies assessing the use of RA in the DES era.
authors: Interventional Cardiology, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC.
authors: Wenjie
authors: W
authors: Tian
authors: Interventional Cardiology, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC.
authors: Thibault
authors: T
authors: Lhermusier
authors: Interventional Cardiology, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC.
authors: Sa'ar
authors: S
authors: Minha
authors: Interventional Cardiology, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC. Electronic address: ron.waksman@medstar.net.
authors: Ron
authors: R
authors: Waksman
mesh_terms: D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D017225:Atherectomy, Coronary / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000379:methods; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000628:therapy*; D023903:Coronary Restenosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D054855:Drug-Eluting Stents; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D018570:Risk Assessment; D015996:Survival Rate; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D061205:Vascular Calcification / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*
keywords: Rotational atherectomy; calcified coronary lesions; drug-eluting stents