P.055 Efficacy and safety of using standardized size of stents in patients with carotid artery stenosis

Abstract

Background: Carotid artery stenosis causes up to 20% of ischemic strokes. Stenting is used as an alternative to endarterectomy in symptomatic patients. Most centers customize each individual stenosis to a specific stent size. However, this process can be time consuming and costly while the relative benefit has not been well evaluated yet. We hypothesized that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to carotid stenting results in non-inferior results to a customized approach. Methods: We conducted a descriptive retrospective cohort study on patients who underwent carotid artery stenting looking for peri- and post-procedural complications. The primary outcomes were periprocedural (within 24 hours) or post procedural (within 30 day) TIA, stroke, or death. The secondary outcome was the estimated degree of stenosis on follow up ultrasound performed within 6 months of the procedure. Results: The complication rate was 4.5%, 6.5% for 24 hours and 30 day post-procedure, respictively. Age and degree of stenosis on post procedural cerebral angiogram were associated with increased risk of complication. Severe restenosis or occlusion was reported in 16.8% of patients within 6 months post-procedure. Conclusions: Our study suggests that using a simplified, one-size-fits-all, approach to carotid stenting results in safe and effective outcomes, suggesting a route to possibly simplify a complex medical procedure.