In Brief: OARS study
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
OARS study: One-year follow-up of the 200-patient, multicenter Optimal Atherectomy Restenosis Study (OARS) shows a 18% repeat intervention rate in patients treated with "optimal atherectomy," researchers report Nov. 15 at the American Heart Association scientific sessions. Charles Simonton, MD, Carolinas Heart Institute, Charlotte, North Carolina, et al. say that the rate compares favorably with "the standard 28 to 30 percent rate for balloon angioplasty procedures. The investigators say that the optimal procedure, which involves multiple passes with Guidant's AtheroCath directional atherectomy device followed by balloon angioplasty, may "prove a more cost-effective choice than coronary stents." The 1,000-patient randomized Balloon Versus Optimal Atherectomy Trial (BOAT) is under way; preliminary data presented at AHA showed that optimal DCA is "effective in reducing acute residual diameter stenosis"...