Saphenous graft atherosclerosis as assessed by optical coherence tomography data for stenotic and non-stenotic lesions from the OCTOPUS registry

Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), although widely used for a long time in diffuse coronary artery disease (CAD), has serious limitations associated with graft aging and its degeneration. The relationship between saphenous vein graft (SVG) plaque morphology assessed by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and clinical findings has not been elucidated yet. We compared the morphology of SVG in stenotic vs. non-stenotic lesions using OCT imaging in 29 patients hospitalized in our center within the OCTOPUS registry. Stenotic lesions were characterized by higher incidence of thin-cap fibroatheroma (TCFA) (33% vs. 0%, = 0.0048), thrombus (28% vs. 0%, = 0.0008), lipid-rich plaque (LRP) (75% vs. 35%, = 0.0013) and plaque within the SVG valve (19% vs. 0%, = 0.0114) as compared to non-stenotic lesions. Patients with intimal tearing or rupture (ITR) were older (75.8% vs. 68.9 years, = 0.047) and had lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (32.0% vs. 49.7%, = 0.001) and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) (36.0 vs. 73.6 ml/min/1.73 m , = 0.010). Patients with calcified lesions vs. those without had lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (33.2 vs. 44.1 mg/dl, = 0.018), similarly to those with ruptured plaque vs. those without (28.3 vs. 41.7 mg/dl, = 0.047). Presence of ITR was associated with advanced age, decreased LVEF and renal insufficiency. Decreased concentration of HDL was associated with higher occurrence of calcified and ruptured plaque.