Intracoronary Near-Infrared Spectroscopy to Predict No-Reflow Phenomenon During Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Acute Coronary Syndrome.

Near-infrared spectroscopy-intravascular ultrasound (NIRS-IVUS) can identify the lipid-rich lesions, described as high lipid-core burden index (LCBI). The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between lipid-core plaque (LCP) in the infarct-related lesion detected using NIRS-IVUS and no-reflow phenomenon during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). We investigated 371 patients with ACS who underwent NIRS-IVUS in the infarct-related lesions before PCI. The extent of LCP in the infarct-related lesion was calculated as the maximum LCBI for each of the 4-mm longitudinal segments (maxLCBI) measured by NIRS-IVUS. The patients were divided into 2 groups using a maxLCBI cut-off value of 400. The overall incidence of no-reflow phenomenon was 53 of 371 (14.3%). No-reflow phenomenon more frequently occurred in patients with maxLCBI ≥400 compared with those with maxLCBI<400 (17.5% vs 2.5%, p <0.001). After propensity score matching, multivariable logistic regression analysis demonstrated that maxLCBI (odds ratio: 1.008; 95% confidence interval: 1.005 to 1.012, p <0.001) was independently associated with the no-reflow phenomenon. The maxLCBI of 719 in the infarct-related lesion had the highest combined sensitivity (69.8%) and specificity (72.1%) for the identification of no-reflow phenomenon. In conclusion, in patients with ACS, maxLCBI in the infarct-related lesion assessed by NIRS-IVUS was independently associated with the no-reflow phenomenon during PCI.