Drug-coated balloon angioplasty showed efficacy in 77.6% of patients with symptomatic vertebral artery origin stenosis.

A retrospective cohort study conducted at Xuzhou First People’s Hospital analyzed 121 consecutive patients with symptomatic vertebral artery origin stenosis. The primary intervention involved drug-coated balloon (DCB) angioplasty, with bailout stenting (BS) serving as the comparator group for patients requiring additional intervention. The study assessed efficacy and safety, including factors necessitating intraoperative bailout stenting, with follow-up extending to at least 12 months.

Technical success was achieved in 94 of the 121 patients, representing 77.6% of the cohort. Conversely, bailout stenting was required in 27 patients, accounting for 22.3% of the sample. Regarding stenosis reduction, median stenosis in the DCB group decreased from 83% at baseline to 36% immediately post-procedure. This reduction was statistically significant, with a p-value less than 0.05. Follow-up data for stenosis rates at 3 and 12 months were collected but specific numerical results for these timepoints were not detailed in the provided data.

Safety and tolerability data were not reported in the available information. The study acknowledges limitations including its single-center design, real-world setting, and preliminary efficacy status. No specific adverse events or discontinuations were listed in the provided safety profile. The authors note that these results reflect a preliminary efficacy analysis in a real-world context.

Clinicians should interpret these results with caution. The lack of reported p-values for most outcomes and the absence of detailed safety data limit the ability to draw definitive conclusions. Further multicenter trials are needed to confirm the durability of stenosis reduction and the safety profile of DCB angioplasty in this specific population before widespread adoption.