Extract

This editorial refers to ‘Severity of coronary atherosclerosis in patients with a first acute coronary event: a diabetes paradox’, by M. Niccoli et al., on page 729

Niccoli et al. assessed the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) in the culprit vessels of diabetic type II as well as non-diabetic patients (n = 167) at the time of their first coronary event employing standard coronary angiography and intracoronary optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging (n = 72).1 To assess the severity of CAD, they applied the Bogarty, Gensini, and Sullivan scores, and to evaluate the development of collaterals they used the Rentrop score, all based on coronary angiography. Intracoronary imaging by OCT was performed to study coronary plaque morphology, more particularly to quantify the amount of lipids and calcification present in the plaques. This was assessed at the site of the minimal lumen area (MLA) and at the cross-section showing the largest arc of calcium in the culprit vessel. Furthermore, the OCT images were inspected for the presence of calcified nodules.2

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