Long-term outcomes of drug-eluting versus bare-metal stent implantation in patients with chronic total coronary artery occlusions

Background There are limited data on the efficacy of drug-eluting stents （DES） for treatment of chronic total occlusions （CTO）. The aim of the study was to evaluate the long-term clinical outcomes of DES implantation for CTO compared with bare-metal stent （BMS） implantation.
Methods Between June 1995 and December 2006, a total of 1184 patients with successful recanalization of at least one de novo CTO lesion were consecutively registered, including 660 （55.7%） who underwent DES and 524 （44.3%） who underwent BMS implantation. All patients were followed up for up to 5 years for occurrence of major adverse cardiac events （MACE）. Long-term survival rates were estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method.
Results Baseline clinical and angiographic characteristics were comparable between the two groups except that patients in the DES group received longer dual antiplatelet therapy （（7.4±2.5） months vs （1.7±0.8） months, P 〈0.001）. Average follow-up periods were （4.7±0.89） and （3.2±1.3） years for the BMS and DES groups, respectively. There was no significant difference in 5-year survival rates between the two groups （90.3% for DES group vs 89.6% for BMS group, Log-rank P=0.38）, but the 5-year target vessel revascularization （TVR）-free survival rate in the DES group was significantly higher than that in the BMS group （81.6% vs 73.5%, Log-rank P 〈0.001）. The cumulative MACE-free survival in the DES group was also significantly higher than that in the BMS group （80.6% vs 71.5%, Log-rank P〈0.001）. The rates of readmission caused by cardiovascular disease （27.0% vs 37.8%, P 〈0.001） and the need for bypass surgery were significantly lower in the DES group （1.5% vs 3.4%, P 〈0.05）. By multivariable analysis, DES implantation could significantly lower the long-term MACE risk of PCI for CTO patients （HR： 0.492; 95% Cl 0.396-0.656, P 〈0.001）. Left ventricular ejection fraction 〈50% and elderly （〉65 years） were identified as independent predictors of long-term MACE during follow-up.
Conclusion This study demonstrates the long-term （up to 5 years） efficacy of DES for treatment of CTO, which is superior to BMS implantation in reducing the rates of TVR and MACE, as well as the need of re-admission and bypass surgery.

Long-term outcomes of drug-eluting versus bare-metal stent implantation in patients with chronic total coronary artery occlusions

Background There are limited data on the efficacy of drug-eluting stents (DES) for treatment of chronic total occlusions (CTO). The aim of the study was to evaluate the long-term clinical outcomes of DES implantation for CTO compared with bare-metal stent (BMS) implantation.Methods Between June 1995 and December 2006, a total of 1184 patients with successful recanalization of at least one de novo CTO lesion were consecutively registered, including 660 (55.7%) who underwent DES and 524 (44.3%) who underwent BMS implantation. All patients were followed up for up to 5 years for occurrence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE). Long-term survival rates were estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method.Results Baseline clinical and angiographic characteristics were comparable between the two groups except that patients in the DES group received longer dual antiplatelet therapy ((7.4±2.5) months vs (1.7±0.8) months, P<0.001). Average follow-up periods were (4.7±0.89) and (3.2±1.3) years for the BMS and DES groups, respectively. There was no significant difference in 5-year survival rates between the two groups (90.3% for DES group vs 89.6% for BMS group, Log-rank P=0.38), but the 5-year target vessel revascularization (TVR)-free survival rate in the DES group was significantly higher than that in the BMS group (81.6% vs 73.5%, Log-rank P <0.001). The cumulative MACE-free survival in the DES group was also significantly higher than that in the BMS group (80.6% vs 71.5%, Log-rank P <0.001). The rates of re-admission caused by cardiovascular disease (27.0% vs 37.8%, P <0.001) and the need for bypass surgery were significantly lower in the DES group (1.5% vs 3.4%, P <0.05). By multivariable analysis, DES implantation could significantly lower the long-term MACE risk of PCI for CTO patients (HR: 0.492; 95% CI 0.396-0.656, P <0.001). Left ventricular ejection fraction <50% and elderly (>65 years) were identified as independent predictors of long-term MACE during follow-up.Conclusion This study demonstrates the long-term (up to 5 years) efficacy of DES for treatment of CTO, which is superior to BMS implantation in reducing the rates of FVR and MACE, as well as the need of re-admission and bypass surgery.