Background Critical limb ischemia (CLI) portends a risk of major amputation of 25-35% within 1 year of diagnosis. Pre-clinical studies provide evidence that intramuscular injection of autologous CD34+ cells improve limb perfusion and reduce amputation risk. In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study, we evaluated the safety and efficacy of intramuscular injections of autologous CD34+ cells in subjects with moderate or high-risk CLI who were poor or non-candidates for surgical or percutaneous revascularization (ACT34-CLI). Methods and Results Twenty-eight CLI subjects were randomized and treated: 7 to 1×105 (low-dose) and 9 to 1×106 (high-dose) autologous CD34+ cells/kg; 12 to placebo (control). Intramuscular injections were distributed into 8 sites within the ischemic lower extremity. At 6 months post-injection 67% of control subjects experienced a major or minor amputation versus 43% of low-dose and 22% of high-dose cell-treated subjects (P=0.137). This trend continued at 12 months with 75% of control subjects experiencing any amputation versus 43% of low-dose and 22% of high-dose cell-treated subjects (P=0.058). Amputation incidence was lower in the combined cell-treated groups compared with control group (6 months: P=0.125; 12 months: P=0.054), with the low-dose and high-dose groups individually showing trends towards improved amputation free survival at 6 and 12 months. No adverse safety signal was associated with cell administration. Conclusions This study provides evidence that intramuscular administration of autologous CD34+ cells was safe in this patient population. Favorable trends toward reduced amputation rates in cell-treated versus control subjects were observed. These findings warrant further exploration in later phase clinical trials.

Coronary perforation is an uncommon but potentially life-threatening complication of percutaneous coronary intervention. The use of both atheroablative technologies for coronary intervention and adjunctive platelet glycoprotein blockade pharmacology may increase the incidence of or risk for life-threatening bleeding complications following the occurrence of coronary artery perforation. The interventional database for 6,214 percutaneous coronary interventions performed between January 1995 and June 1999 was analyzed. Hospital charts and cine angiograms for all patients identified in the database as having had coronary perforation were reviewed. Coronary perforation complicated 0.58% of all procedures and was more commonly observed in patients with a history of congestive heart failure and following use of atheroablative interventional technologies (2.8%). There was no association of abciximab therapy with either the incidence of or classification for coronary perforation. Adverse clinical outcomes (death, emergency surgical exploration) were related to the angiographic classification of perforation and were more frequently observed in patients who experienced a class 3 coronary perforation. These data suggest that specific clinical and procedural demographic factors are associated with the occurrence and severity of angiographic coronary perforation. An angiographic perforation class-specific algorithm for treatment of coronary perforation is proposed.

In patients undergoing revascularization for lower extremity atherosclerotic disease, catheter-based PE achieves favorable procedural success and avoids the need for repeat revascularization at midterm follow-up. These findings support PE as a primary endovascular therapy for patients undergoing lower extremity arterial revascularization.

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Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the safety and short-term efficacy of orbital atherectomy for chronic infrapopliteal arterial occlusive disease. Background: Infrapopliteal occlusive disease is a common cause of critical limb ischemia and claudication. There are no American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines for infrapopliteal revascularization for chronic limb ischemia. Methods: One hundred twenty four patients (201 stenoses) were enrolled in a prospective non-randomized multicenter registry of orbital atherectomy for severe infrapopliteal disease. Data were collected as part of an investigational device exemption from the Food and Drug Administration. Results: The primary safety endpoint of major adverse events (MAE) at 30-days (death, myocardial infarction, amputation, or repeat revascularization) was observed in four patients (3.2%). The primary efficacy endpoint (final diameter stenosis) was 17.8 6 13.5%. The secondary endpoints of procedural success (final diameter stenosis 30%) and 6 month MAE (death, amputation, or target vessel revascularization) were observed in 90.1 and 10.4% of patients, respectively. Stand-alone atherectomy was performed in 116 lesions (57.4%). At 6-months, no patients required surgical bypass or unplanned amputation, and improvement in Rutherford ordinal scale was observed in 78.2% of patients. Conclusions: Orbital atherectomy is a unique approach to infrapopliteal disease, and provides predictable and safe lumen enlargement. Short-term data demonstrate substantial symptomatic improvement and infrequent need for further revascularization or amputation. '