Introduction: Using balloon-expandable stents (BES) for treatment of intracranial stenoses, high inflation pressures and rigidity of the device are regarded as major drawbacks limiting feasibility and safety of the procedure. Self-expanding stents (SES) were developed to facilitate lesion access and to allow for less aggressive dilatation. We analyzed data of the INTRASTENT multicentric registry to assess whether self-expanding stents significantly reduced peri-interventional complication rates.
Methods: Records of intracranial stent procedures were entered consecutively into the registry. Datasets were divided into two groups according to the type of stent used. For outcome measurement, we chose three categories: TIA/minor stroke [modified Rankin score (mRS) <2], disabling stroke, and patient death. Clinical outcome was compared between BES and SES. We analyzed types of adverse events occurring in each group in addition.
Results: Of 409 atherosclerotic lesions, 254 were treated with BES and 155 with SES. Technical success rates were 97.6% and 98.7%, respectively. Adverse event rates were 4.9%, 3.7%, and 0.8% for TIA/nondisabling stroke, disabling stroke, and death in the BES group compared with 5.3%, 6.0%, and 4.0% in the SES group. The differences were not statistically significant. We observed more perforator strokes after use of BES, but thromboembolic events occurred more often in the SES treatment group.
Conclusion: Data of the INTRASTENT registry do not support the hypothesis that introduction of SES lowered the overall complication rate of intracranial stent procedures. There might be an advantage using self-expanding stents in vessel segments with important perforating arteries.