Treatment synergy of silicon carbide-coated stenting and abciximab for complex coronary artery lesions: clinical results of a single-center study.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the combination of a silicon carbide-coated stent with the periprocedural use of abciximab in patients with type B2/C lesions. The study was a prospective cohort study and was conducted at the University Medical Center of Groningen.Elective percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty was performed in a total of 44 patients. All had lesions with type B2/C characteristics and most were relatively small, tortuous and calcified. The involved vessel segment was stented. Silicon carbide-coated stents were used in combination with periprocedural abciximab. The main outcome measures were cardiac death, target vessel revascularization, myocardial infarction, and cerebrovascular accident.At 6 months of follow-up, only 4 patients had a major adverse cardiac event. Three patients had undergone target vessel revascularization and 1 patient had suffered from a cerebrovascular accident. Sixteen patients underwent re-angiography 6 months after the initial procedure. The average stenosis at 6 months was 15% with a minimal lumen diameter of 2.4 mm.A 9% major adverse cardiac event rate and a 7% target vessel revascularization rate at 6 months in type B2/C lesions were recorded. Further investigation on the use of this specific treatment combination is warranted.