Retrospective study of treatment with a drug-coated balloon alone is beneficial for ostial coronary lesions

BACKGROUND: The effects of ostial coronary lesion (OCL) treatment with a drug-coated balloon (DCB) alone remain controversial. This retrospective study assessed the effectiveness and safety with DCB only strategy for OCL and the factors associated with target lesion revascularization (TLR) in these patients. METHODS: The study retrospectively included patients whom had OCLs treated with a paclitaxel-eluting DCB only strategy from 1 May 2014 to 1 May 2017. Patients were divided into in-stent restenosis (ISR) and de novo (primary) groups. And all patients came back to hospital, and underwent clinical and also angiographic follow-up. RESULTS: Among the 44 patients with 55 OCLs, 12 (27.3%) were assigned to the ISR group and 32 (72.7%) to the de novo group. The outcomes included TLR, post-interventional lumen gain, and late lumen loss (LLL). Only 8 TLRs (7 ISR and 1 de novo) were observed after a mean follow-up of 16 months. The TLR rate in the de novo group was significantly lower than the ISR group (2.4% vs. 50%, P<0.001). The LLL was 0.07±0.63 mm. Logistic regression analysis showed that the TLR incidence was independently associated with the type of stenosis (ISR vs. de novo) after adjusting for sex [odds ratio (OR), 58.72; 95% confidence interval (CI): 4.42–779.94, P=0.002]. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with DCB alone was beneficial to patients with OCLs, particularly those with de novo lesions.