Defibrillators

Boston Scientific recorded an expense of $149 million, or 10 cents per share, largely from amortization costs tied to the Guidant deal.

The profit was cut a further $26 million, or 2 cents per share, from other special charges, mostly from Guidant.

Excluding such one-time items in both comparable periods, Boston Scientific said its first-quarter profit was $295 million, or 20 cents per share, down from $415 million, or 50 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Boston Scientific reported earnings after its shares closed up 11 cents, or nearly 0.7 percent, at $16.09 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The shares fell 42 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $15.67 in after-hours trading.

First-quarter sales of Boston Scientific's Taxus drug-coated stent fell 26 percent to $468 million from $633 million a year ago.

Drug-coated stent sales have fallen off amid concerns that the devices may put patients at slightly higher risk for blood clots than older bare-metal stents.

A study released in March created more trouble for stent makers by questioning whether the tiny mesh-metal devices are more effective than less-costly drug therapy at treating patients with clogged coronary arteries who d...