title: Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Safety of Methotrexate and Its Possible Benefits on Restenosis After Bare-Metal Stent Deployment.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) revolutionized treatment of coronary artery disease. Drug-eluting stents are effective and safe but their cost is high, especially for some countries. The primary objective was to evaluate the safety of methotrexate (MTX) in patients who underwent PCI and the secondary goal was to evaluate the possibility that MTX has an impact on restenosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a transversal, prospective and descriptive study that recruited 16 patients in whom PCI was planned. MTX was administered to patients at a dose of 5 mg/week for 2 weeks before PCI and 8 weeks after PCI. Bare-metal stent (BMS) deployment was performed according to standard practice. Patients were monitored clinically every 15 days during the first 2 months after the procedure and monthly until 9 months after PCI.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no immediate or late complications associated with PCI. Adverse events and side effects due to MTX occurred in three patients (prevalence 18.7%). These side effects are classified as minor complications. MTX was not discontinued due to these side effects. There were no reported cases of clinical restenosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MTX was safe in the study population and raised the possibility that a low-cost drug may have positive effects on restenosis after BMS implantation. However, studies with larger sample sizes and other imagine modalities (intravascular ultrasound and/or optical coherence tomography) are required to confirm this hypothesis.
authors.affiliation: Hospital das Clinicas, Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil.
authors.forename: Viviane
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gouveia
authors.affiliation: Hospital das Clinicas, Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil.
authors.forename: Dinaldo C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Hospital das Clinicas, Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil.
authors.forename: Emmanuele
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tenorio
authors.affiliation: Hospital das Clinicas, Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil.
authors.forename: Norma
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Brito
authors.affiliation: Hospital das Clinicas, Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil.
authors.forename: Emanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sarinho
keywords: Coronary artery disease; Methotrexate; Restenosis; Stent