Effects of different statins application methods on plaques in patients with coronary atherosclerosis

Table 4 Changes of coronary plaque characteristics

Item	Group I (n = 32)	Group II (n = 39)	Group III (n = 29)	P value
Total number of plaques (n)1	50	56	46
Number of plaques, per person	1.56 ± 0.62	1.43 ± 0.75	1.52 ± 0.79	0.70
Length (mm), per plaque	10.19 ± 5.12	9.97 ± 4.70	8.84 ± 3.73	0.32
Plaque nature				0.94
Non-calcified	54.0 (27)	57.1 (32)	56.5 (26)
Mixed	46.0 (23)	42.9 (24)	43.5 (20)
Lesion number				0.65
Single-vessel	53.1 (17)	64.1 (25)	62.1 (18)
Double-vessel	31.3 (10)	30.8 (12)	27.6 (8)
Triple-vessel/left main	15.6 (5)	5.1 (2)	10.3 (3)
Most severe plaque volume (5 mm), per plaque
Baseline, mm3	8.18 ± 5.82	8.34 ± 5.31	8.03 ± 5.48	0.96
Follow-up, mm3	10.19 ± 5.66	10.38 ± 5.81	6.67 ± 4.99	0.001
Plaque volume change, mm3	2.01 ± 1.02	2.03 ± 1.35	-1.36 ± 1.94	< 0.001
Plaque volume percentage change, %	7.24 ± 4.95	6.98 ± 5.18	-3.48 ± 4.74	< 0.001
Plaque volume, per plaque
Baseline, mm3	14.79 ± 15.11	14.76 ± 11.97	11.28 ± 9.53	0.29
Follow-up, mm3	17.82 ± 16.75	17.41 ± 13.58	9.58 ± 7.95	0.002
Plaque volume change, mm3	3.09 ± 2.93	2.64 ± 3.12	-1.79 ± 3.04	< 0.001
Plaque volume percentage change, %	5.38 ± 6.09	5.05 ± 4.82	-2.04 ± 3.68	< 0.001
CACS2
Baseline	41.22 ± 55.04	45.44 ± 31.82	101.00 ± 210.44	0.40
Follow-up	51.72 ± 65.76	56.78 ± 35.18	114.45 ± 229.93	0.44
CACS change	10.5 ± 11.62	11.22 ± 7.07	13.46 ± 20.12	0.86
CACS percentage change, %	89.32 ± 147.81	35.45 ± 21.79	40.65 ± 46.44	0.35
Baseline RI	0.96 ± 0.30	1.00 ± 0.35	0.96 ± 0.35	0.74
Follow-up RI	1.06 ± 0.35	1.12 ± 0.32	0.97 ± 0.32	0.10

Values are expressed as the mean ± SD or % (n).

¹The total number of plaques includes only non-calcified plaques and mixed plaques.

²Coronary artery calcification score (CACS) assessment includes 38 patients with CACS in the study population (Group I, n = 18; Group II, n = 9; Group III, n = 11). CACS: Coronary artery calcification score; RI: Remodelling index.