Carotid Artery Stenting Without Protection

A recent randomized Carotid artery stenting (CAS) trial in which carotid protection device (CPD)s were used to demonstrate equivalence with carotid endarterectomy (CEA) by achieving noninferiority regarding periprocedural risk. However, the clinical efficacy and safety of CPDs are still a matter of controversy. It has been argued that the limited reduction provided by CPDs may be due to the devices themselves. Probably, they serve as sources for emboli during the procedure or removal technique. In general, 30- day adverse outcome for CAS with the use of CPDs seems not to be different from the outcome without CPDs. Thus, the main goal in this study is to test the hypothesis that CAS without CPD usage is as safe as in those patients who undergo CAS with CPD neuroprotection.