Incidence and Predictors of the In-stent Restenosis after Vertebral Artery Ostium Stenting

Background: The incidence and predictors for in-stent restenosis (ISR) was not fully explored. We aim to investigate the incidence and predictors of ISR after stenting at the origin of vertebral artery. Materials and Methods: Two hundred and six patients with 229 stents implantation between July 1, 2005 and July 31, 2015 were included in the study. All patients underwent conventional clinical and angiographic (digital subtraction angiography) follow-up at around 6 months post procedure. ISR was defined as greater than 50% stenosis within or immediately (within 5 mm) adjacent to the stent. Multivariate Cox regression analyses were utilized to investigate the predictors for ISR. Results: The ISR was found in 30 patients (30/206, 14.6%) with 31 lesions (31/229, 13.5%) with the mean follow-up duration of 11.1-month (range: 3 - 92 months). Stent diameter (hazard ratio 0.504, 95% confidence interval 0.294 - 0.864) was an independent predictor for ISR. Conclusion: ISR rate after Vertebral artery ostium stent placement is acceptable, which was conversely associated with the stent diameter.