The aim of this study was to determine the maximum tolerated dose of (90)Y-DOTATOC per cycle administered in association with amino acid solution as kidney protection in patients with somatostatin receptor-positive tumours. Forty patients in eight groups received two cycles of (90)Y-DOTATOC, with activity increased by 0.37 GBq per group, starting at 2.96 and terminating at 5.55 GBq. All patients received lysine +/- arginine infusion immediately before and after therapy. Forty-eight percent developed acute grade I-II gastrointestinal toxicity (nausea and vomiting) after amino acid infusion whereas no acute adverse reactions occurred after (90)Y-DOTATOC injection up to 5.55 GBq/cycle. Grade III haematological toxicity occurred in three of seven (43%) patients receiving 5.18 GBq, which was defined as the maximum tolerable activity per cycle. Objective therapeutic responses occurred. Five GBq per cycle is the recommended dosage of (90)Y-DOTATOC when amino acids are given to protect the kidneys. Although no patients developed acute kidney toxicity, delayed kidney toxicity remains a major concern, limiting the cumulative dose to ~25 Gy. The way forward with this treatment would seem to be to identify more effective renal protective agents, in order to be able to increase the cumulative injectable activity and hence tumour dose.

In patients with a recently implanted DES and high-risk characteristics for stent thrombosis needing urgent surgery, a 'bridging strategy' using i.v. tirofiban may allow temporary withdrawal of oral clopidogrel without increasing the risk of bleeding.

According to our standard technique (12 MBq of 99mTc-HAS), LS and SLNB can be performed safely during pregnancy, since the very low prenatal doses from this diagnostic procedure, when properly performed, do not significantly increase the risk of prenatal death, malformation or mental impairment.

To cite this article: Savonitto S, Caracciolo M, Cattaneo M, De Servi S. Management of patients with recently implanted coronary stents on dual antiplatelet therapy who need to undergo major surgery. J Thromb Haemost 2011; 9: 2133-42.Summary. About 5% of patients undergoing coronary stenting need to undergo surgery within the next year. The risk of perioperative cardiac ischemic events, particularly stent thrombosis (ST), is high in these patients, because surgery has a prothrombotic effect and antiplatelet therapy is often withdrawn in order to avoid bleeding. The clinical and angiographic predictors of ST are well known, and the proximity to an acute coronary syndrome adds to the risk. The current guidelines recommend delaying non-urgent surgery for at least 6 weeks after the placement of a bare metal stent and for 6-12 months after the placement of a drug-eluting stent, when the risk of ST is reduced. However, in the absence of formal evidence, these recommendations provide little support with regard to managing urgent operations. When surgery cannot be postponed, stratifying the risk of surgical bleeding and cardiac ischemic events is crucial in order to manage perioperative antiplatelet therapy in individual cases. Dual antiplatelet therapy should not be withdrawn for minor surgery or most gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures. Aspirin can be safely continued perioperatively in the case of most major surgery, and provides coronary protection. In the case of interventions at high risk for both bleeding and ischemic events, when clopidogrel withdrawal is required in order to reduce perioperative bleeding, perioperative treatment with the short-acting intravenous glycoprotein IIb-IIIa inhibitor tirofiban is safe in terms of bleeding, and provides strong antithrombotic protection. Such surgical interventions should be performed at hospitals capable of performing an immediate percutaneous coronary intervention at any time in the case of acute myocardial ischemia.Keywords: aspirin, clopidogrel, coronary artery, stents, surgery.Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is being increasingly used in patients with coronary artery disease. More than 1 000 000 procedures are performed each year in the USA [1], and a similar number in Europe [2], with > 85% of the cases involving coronary stenting. The current PCI guidelines [3,4] recommend dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with aspirin and an ADP receptor blocker for > 1 month after the positioning of bare metal stents (BMSs), and for 1 year in the case of drugeluting stents (DESs), and it has been shown that the premature withdrawal of DAPT for any reason is associated with a high risk of stent thrombosis (ST), which often leads to myocardial infarction (MI) and death [5][6][7][8].The discontinuation of APT to reduce the risk of surgical bleeding is becoming an increasingly frequent challenge for surgeons, anesthesiologists and cardiologists because more patients are now receiving DESs, the period of mandatory DAPT is becoming longer, and the ages for the peak inciden...