Carotid Stenting—Why Treating an Artery May Not Treat the Patient

In this issue of JAMA Neurology, Jalbert and colleagues present the results of a detailed analysis of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) administrative data on patients with carotid artery stenosis treated with carotid artery stenting. Their well-written manuscript and timely study included more than 22 000 patients treated and followed up between 2000 and 2009. They analyzed periprocedural complications (defined as stroke, transient ischemic attack [TIA], myocardial infarction [MI], and death within 30 days), as well as long-term stroke and mortality. Important variables that were analyzed included the degree of carotid stenosis, symptom status, urgency of the procedure, experience of the interventionalist, some medical comorbidities, and hospital characteristics.
Source: JAMA Neurology - Category: Neurology Source Type: research