[Use of stents with bioactive coating in treatment of patients with lesions of the superficial femoral artery].

The authors analysed the immediate outcomes of implanting stents with bioactive coating in treatment of patients presenting with atherosclerotic lesions of the superficial femoral artery. Over the period from January 2014 to December 2015, endovascular interventions on the superficial femoral artery were carried out in a total of 18 patients (mean age 61.3±9.2 years). The implants inserted were stents with bioactive coating based on titanium oxinitride, measuring 6 to 8 mm in diameter and being from 50 to 200 mm long. Prior to operation and 7 days after implantation of the stent, the immunoenzymatic assay was used to determine the level of nitrogen nitric oxide (NO) in blood. The stents' patency was assessed by the findings of ultrasound duplex scanning performed at 30 days, and then 6 and 12 months after the intervention. There were no complications either during the operation or in the early postoperative period. An increase in the ankle-brachial index was observed in all patients: with the average value prior to treatment amounting to 0.4±0.3 and equalling 1.1±0.2 after stenting (p<0.0001). Normalization of the blood NO level was revealed (was noted to normalize): the mean value prior to operation amounted to 18.9±2.3 µmol/L and after operation to 28.9±4.1 µmol/L (p<0.05). Primary patency rate of the stents was 100% at 30 days, 94.5% (1 occlusion) at 6 months and 88.8% (1 restenosis and 1 occlusion) at 12 months. The patients with occlusion or restenosis were subjected to repeat endovascular interventions, with restoration of patency of the construction (with the construction's patency restored). By now all the 18 patients show preserved patency (currently patency was preserved) of lower-limb arteries, with no evidence of restenosis in the zones of operations. It was concluded that using stents with bioactive coating based on titanium oxinitride results in normalization of the level of NO in blood, which may contribute favourably to prolongation of the period of functioning of endovascular constructions. The first data concerning primary patency of stents of this type make it possible to count on betterment of the remote results of treatment of patients presenting with atherosclerotic lesions of the superficial femoral artery.