Abstract

Introduction

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-coated balloon (DCB) is an attractive strategy for the treatment of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). The implantation technique strongly influences the outcome of DCB PCI: accurate and adequate lesion preparation, short delivery time and sufficient DCB inflation time are deemed crucial to warrant adequate drug transfer and mitigate the risk of immediate vessel recoil and flow-limiting dissections. However, the optimal DCB inflation time is unclear, current consensus documents suggesting 30–60 s based on Experts' opinion. However, clinical studies comparing the prognostic role of different inflation times are scarce and mainly involve paclitaxel-coated balloons. In this study we aimed to assess the impact of different inflation times in patients undergoing PCI with a sirolimus-coated balloon (SCB).