Carotid artery stenting in octogenarians: periprocedural stroke risk predictor analysis from the multicenter Carotid ACCULINK/ACCUNET Post Approval Trial to Uncover Rare Events (CAPTURE 2) clinical trial.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Carotid ACCULINK/ACCUNET Post Approval Trial to Uncover Rare Events (CAPTURE 2) is an ongoing prospective, nonrandomized, multicenter clinical trial enrolling patients undergoing carotid artery stenting. The aim of this analysis is to identify risk predictors for periprocedural stroke in patients > or = 80 years old.

METHODS

Symptomatic patients with > or = 50% stenosis and asymptomatic patients with > or = 80% stenosis were enrolled. Patients' neurological status was assessed by an independent neurologist before as well as 24 hours and 30 days postprocedure. All strokes and suspected strokes were adjudicated by an independent committee. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify baseline demographic, lesion, procedural, or comorbidity parameters associated with outcomes in patients > or = 80 years of age.

RESULTS

As of January 10, 2009, 5297 patients underwent carotid artery stenting in 186 US CAPTURE 2 clinical centers and 1166 were > or = 80 years old. Octogenarians were similar to nonoctogenarians in terms of gender and symptomatic status but had fewer of certain risk factors (prior myocardial infarction or carotid endarterectomy, diabetes, smoking history) and more cardiac arrhythmia and renal insufficiency. For the overall cohort, death/stroke rate was 3.3%; stroke rate was 2.7% (0.8% major, 1.9% minor). Death/stroke rates were significantly higher for octogenarians than nonoctogenarians (4.5% versus 3.0%) as were stroke rates (3.8% versus 2.4%). Symptomatic status, embolic protection device dwell time, and lesion length were risk predictors for periprocedural stroke in octogenarians.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients > or = 80 years old have higher periprocedural event rates than nonoctogenarians. Age, symptomatic status, and lesion length should be considered when identifying appropriate candidates for the procedure.