February 26, 2010—Long-awaited results from the CREST (Carotid Revascularization Endarterectomy versus Stenting Trial) study were presented today for the first time at the American Stroke Association’s Annual International Stroke Conference 2010, which convened on February 24–26 in San Antonio, Texas. The CREST Executive Committee met recently to take a first look at this very large data set and prepared the manuscript of the outcome results that was presented.
CREST is comparing stent-assisted carotid angioplasty (CAS) to carotid endarterectomy (CEA) for the treatment of carotid artery stenosis to prevent recurrent strokes in those patients who have had a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or a mild stroke within the previous 6 months (symptomatic) and in those patients who have not had any symptoms within the previous 6 months (asymptomatic). The study is sponsored by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in collaboration with the US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Thomas G. Brott, MD, is the principal investigator for CREST.
Enrollment in the CREST study commenced in December 2000 with an anticipated total enrollment of 2,500 patients and a completion date of December 2011 for collection of data for primary outcome measure. The investigators now report that the current data encompass 2,502 patients enrolled at more than 100 centers in North America. More than 80% of the participants had an artery blockage > 70%.
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