Abstract P540: Safety of Carotid Artery Stenting Without Embolic Protection: A Single Centre Experience

Introduction: One of the most feared complications of carotid revascularization, including carotid artery stenting (CAS), is peri-procedural ischemic stroke. Several studies suggest that the use of a distal embolic protection device (EPD), as well as over-sized pre- and post-stenting balloon angioplasty, may increase the risk of dislodgement of atheromatous plaque in patients undergoing CAS. The CREST trial, that mandated the use of an EPD, had a peri-procedural ischemic stroke rate of 4.1%. We hypothesize that our technique of stenting without the use of an EPD and sub-maximal angioplasty will have a low risk of peri-procedural complications. Methods: A retrospective review was conducted of consecutive cases of ICA stenting without use of an embolic protection device between January 2012 and June 2020 at a Canadian stroke centre. Data was extracted from the patient electronic medical record and Picture Archives and Communications Systems (PACS). Both symptomatic and asymptomatic CAS cases were included. Results: A total of 220 patients were included in the study, with a median age of 70 years (range 39-93 years), and 83 patients (38%) were female. The vast majority of patients were symptomatic (216 patients [98%]). A large portion of patients had a contralateral ICA occlusion or near occlusion (56 patients [25%]). In the majority of cases, a Precise Cordis RX carotid stent (Cordis) was placed. There were four patients with peri-procedural ischemic strokes (1.8%), with two occurring 8-30 days after stenting. There was one case of acute stent occlusion associated with an ischemic stroke. Two patients (less than 1%) had hyperperfusion syndrome after CAS. Median length of stay following the procedure was one day. Conclusions: In this single centre series, the peri-procedural risks of CAS without using an EPD are low. The ischemic stroke rate is less than 2%, lower than what has been reported in large randomized controlled trials using embolic protection.