Online tools will help physicians determine treatment strategies
NATICK, Mass. and BARCELONA, Spain, May 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) today welcomed the launch of a new website, www.syntaxscore.com, dedicated to the understanding and use of the SYNTAX Score™, a novel angiographic tool used to measure the complexity of coronary artery disease. The Company made the announcement at the annual EuroPCR Scientific Program in Barcelona.
The SYNTAX Score was developed in connection with the SYNTAX trial, the first randomized, controlled clinical trial to compare percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using the TAXUS® Express2® Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System to coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery in patients with left main disease and/or significant narrowing of all three coronary arteries (three-vessel disease). These complex patients are traditionally treated with CABG and have been excluded from most prior drug-eluting stent clinical trials. The SYNTAX trial provides important data related to the treatment of these complex patients and should help physicians make more informed treatment decisions.
The SYNTAX Score was used in the trial to characterize coronary anatomy based on nine anatomic criteria, including lesion frequency, complexity and location; it assigned a score to each patient. Higher SYNTAX Scores indicate patients with more complex disease and increased treatment challenges.
The new website allows cardiologists and cardiac surgeons to calculate a patient's SYNTAX Score and create a description of anatomical complexity of the coronary vasculature that can be used in combination with a physician's broader clinical judgment to aid in determining the best revascularization option. The site also includes a detailed tutorial on the use of the SYNTAX Score calculator, including definitions and example cases, together with SYNTAX data presentations and publications.
"The SYNTAX Score website will be an important tool to assist with revascularization strategies in these complex patient populations," said Patrick W. Serruys, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of Interventional Cardiology, Thoraxcenter-Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and chairman of the SYNTAX trial steering committee. "Having a consistent grading system for lesion complexity and severity of coronary artery disease allows me to better evaluate treatment options for my patients. The website's interactive calculator makes it easier to determine a patient's score and to reference current clinical data from the SYNTAX trial associated with that score."
The SYNTAX trial will continue to provide important data throughout the life of the trial (one-, three- and five-year outcomes). As more data become available, awareness and understanding of the SYNTAX trial will increase as will the utility of the SYNTAX Score.
"Boston Scientific is pleased to contribute the SYNTAX trial data to the advancement of evidence-based medicine," said Keith D. Dawkins, M.D., Associate Chief Medical Officer of Boston Scientific. "The patients enrolled in SYNTAX have exceptionally complex anatomy and advanced disease, representing an unprecedented study group for a stent trial. Ongoing findings from this study will continue to be used to enhance the value of the SYNTAX Score in this high-risk patient population."
Boston Scientific will be announcing subset data analyses from the SYNTAX trial this week at EuroPCR.
The SYNTAX Score and SYNTAX Score website were developed under the direction of the SYNTAX trial steering committee, chaired by Dr. Serruys and F.W. Mohr, M.D., Ph.D., and were made possible by support from Boston Scientific and Cardialysis BV.
The safety and effectiveness of the TAXUS® Express2® Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System has not been established in patients with left main or three-vessel disease. The SYNTAX Score and related materials are not intended to provide medical advice or guidance as to appropriate treatment strategies for individual patients.
Boston Scientific is a worldwide developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices whose products are used in a broad range of interventional medical specialties. For more information, please visit: www.bostonscientific.com.
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SOURCE: Boston Scientific Corporation
Web site: http://www.bostonscientific.com/