Unnecessary stenting
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Duke University analysis places annual U.S. costs at up to $162 mil. Pooling results from seven different angioplasty trials including a total of 5,143 patients, researchers concluded that one of every 12 patients "may not need stents because their vessels are very unlikely to renarrow after balloon angioplasty." Candidates are likely to include males, patients with short atherosclerotic lesions, and lesions not at the top of the left anterior descending artery