Coronary disease & ACSCohort study

Intravascular Lithotripsy or Mechanical Debulking in Complex Calcified Coronary Arteries

JACC Cardiovasc IntervPublished

  • Prospective registry study
  • multicentre
  • propensity-score matched
  • inverse probability weighting

Authors' conclusion

The study confirms the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of IVL and AT in an unselected population, with similar procedural success rates. After propensity matching, IVL seems to demonstrate in our cohort a better 12-month safety outcome.

Study context

Population
Real-world all-comer patients with complex calcified coronary arteries, 23 Italian centres81 treated with both excluded
Participants
1,005 patients
Exposure
Intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) vs atherectomy
  • IVLn = 544
  • Atherectomy (AT)n = 380reference
Outcome
Procedural success (residual stenosis <30% and no in-hospital MACE: cardiac death, MI, target vessel revascularization); primary safety endpoint freedom from MACE at 30 days

Main finding

Procedural success

Relative risk

1.01

95% CI 0.88–1.17

By group

IVL vs AT
relative risk 1.01 (95% CI 0.88–1.17)

As reported in the abstract

Observational data: associations, not effects.

Secondary outcomes

OutcomeIVLATHR (95% CI)P value
MACE, after propensity score matching and inverse probability weighting · 12 months6.8%14.3%0.43 (0.21–0.89)P = 0.022
CV death · 30 days1.7%3.9%0.40 (0.18–0.92)P = 0.030
  • Major adverse cardiac events (MACE), after propensity score matching and inverse probability weighting: propensity score matching (n = 320) and inverse probability weighting (n = 532)

Safety

OutcomeIVLATHR (95% CI)P value
MACE (primary safety endpoint) · 30 days5.7%8.6%0.60 (0.36–0.99)P = 0.045

Original publication

Intravascular Lithotripsy or Mechanical Debulking in Complex Calcified Coronary Arteries. JACC Cardiovasc Interv. Published 29 January 2026. doi:10.1016/j.jcin.2025.11.033

Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it