Outcomes in Diabetic Patients Undergoing Orbital Atherectomy System

We evaluated the angiographic and clinical outcomes of orbital atherectomy to treat severely calcified coronary lesions in diabetic and non-diabetic patients.

Diabetics have increased risk for death, myocardial infarction, and target vessel revascularization after percutaneous coronary intervention. Severely calcified coronary lesions are associated with increased cardiac events. Orbital atherectomy facilitates stent delivery and optimizes stent expansion by modifying severely calcified plaque. Outcomes in diabetic patients who undergo orbital atherectomy have not been reported.

Our retrospective multicenter registry included 458 consecutive real-world patients with severely calcified coronary arteries who underwent orbital atherectomy. The primary safety endpoint was the rate of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events at 30 days.

Diabetics represented 42.1% (193/458) of the entire cohort. The primary endpoint was similar in diabetics and non-diabetics (1.0% vs. 3.0%%, P = 0.20), as were 30-day rates of death (0.5% vs. 1.9%, P = 0.41), myocardial infarction (0.5% vs. 1.5%, P = 0.40), target vessel revascularization (0% vs. 0%, P = 1), and stroke (0% vs. 0.4%, P > 0.9). Angiographic complications and stent thrombosis rate were low and did not differ between the 2 groups.

Diabetics represented a sizeable portion of patients who underwent orbital atherectomy. Diabetics who had severely calcified coronary arteries and underwent orbital atherectomy had low event rates that were similar to non-diabetics. Orbital atherectomy appears to be a viable treatment strategy for diabetic patients. Randomized trials with longer-term follow-up are needed to determine the ideal treatment strategy for diabetics.