Background: The optimal treatment of bare metal stent restenosis is still not defined. The most employed contemporary option is the implantation of a drug-eluting stent (DES). However, this procedure implies the addition of a second metal layer in the vessel wall, which is linked to delayed healing. Furthermore, there may be a increased risk of malapposition of both struts of the bare metal and the newly implanted drug-eluting stent. These phenomena may give rise to an increased risk of stent thrombosis in this patient population. Recently, drug-eluting balloons (DEB) have been proposed as a new treatment strategy for bare metal stent restenosis. The initial results of this technique look promising.
Objectives: To compare healing processes after treatment of bare metal stent (BMS) in-stent restenosis (ISR) with balloon dilatation using DEB versus implantation of DES.
Study design: This is a prospective, multicentre (University Hospitals Leuven and ZOL Hospital Genk, Belgium) randomised clinical trial with clinical, angiographic and OCT follow-up at nine months. Patients with bare metal stent restenosis and an indication for repeat PCI are randomised to treatment with a paclitaxel-eluting balloon (SeQuent Please, B-Braun, Melsungen, Germany) versus a Xience V/ Xience Prime everolimus-eluting stent (Abbott Vascular, Santa Clara, CA, USA). The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the vascular healing response of the vessel wall after balloon angioplasty with a paclitaxel-eluting balloon versus implantation of a drug-eluting stent in patients with in-stent restenosis in a coronary artery. The primary endpoint of the study is stent strut coverage and stent strut apposition at nine months, as assessed with OCT.
Conclusions: Currently no prospectively collected data on vessel wall healing after treatment of in-stent restenosis, whether with DES or with DEB, are available. Therefore, the SEDUCE trial will yield pivotal insights on this important topic and guide further optimisation of the interventional treatment for this condition.