BACKGROUND: Intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) and excimer laser-coronary atherectomy (ELCA) could be both used in the percutaneous treatment of coronary stent underexpansion. AIMS: To investigate the effectiveness and safety of IVL vs. ELCA for the treatment of stent underexpansion related to heavy calcifications. METHODS: Consecutive patients with severe stent underexpansion treated with IVL or ELCA with intravascular imaging assessment entered the multicenter IVL-ELCA Dragon Registry. The primary efficacy endpoint was device success defined as technical success with a final stent expansion ≥80%. Thirty days device-oriented composite endpoint consisting of cardiac death, target lesion revascularization or target vessel myocardial infarction was the secondary endpoint. RESULTS: A total of 121 patients were enrolled, of which 69 (57%) underwent IVL and 52 (43%) ELCA. Baseline stent expansion was in IVL 35.4 (26.5-51.8) vs. 26.5 (24.2-31.8) in ELCA group. The most prevalent target vessel was the right coronary artery. Device success was similar in IVL vs. ELCA (76.8% vs. 75%
P = 0.82). Relative increase of stent expansion, were greater in the ELCA group (47.6 [30.9-63.6] vs. 58.0 [49.8-65.6]
P <
0.001), however there were no differences in delta of minimum lumen area (5.1 [2.8-8.1] vs. 4.6 [3.9-5.8] mm2
P =0.34) and minimum stent area (5.1 [2.5] vs. 5.1 [1.1] mm2
P = 0.53) between pre and post PCI. At 30-day follow-up, there were no differences in device-oriented composite endpoint (2.9% vs. 3.8%
P = 0.77). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with underexpanded stents, both IVL and ELCA led to comparable device success and safety outcomes at short-term follow-up.