Clinical impact of drug-eluting stents in changing referral practices for coronary surgical revascularization in a tertiary care center.
BACKGROUND
The long-term benefits of angioplasty are limited by the occurrence of restenosis. Drug-eluting stents with a projected restenosis rate of close to 0% are soon to become available. The short- and long-term consequences of this advance to the cardiac surgical volume remain unclear.


METHODS
A total of 196 consecutive coronary angiograms and medical records of patients referred for coronary bypass surgery were reviewed. Considering the hypothetical premise of having drug-eluting stents with a near zero restenosis rate, we reviewed each case to determine if surgical revascularization was still the preferred option for revascularization.


RESULTS
The mean age was 60 (+/-10.6) years. Seventy-two percent of patients were male. Considering the availability of drug-eluting stents 154 (79%) would still have been sent to surgery, representing a 21% decrease in the number of surgical revascularizations. Angiographic characteristics predicting coronary bypass revascularization were the presence of chronic total occlusion (odds ratio [OR]: 9.1; confidence interval [CI]: 2.1 to 39), left main coronary artery stenosis (OR: 9.6; CI: 1.27 to 73), and need for valvular surgery (OR: 7.38; CI: 1.3 to 157). The most common predictors of a change in clinical management from surgical to percutaneous revascularization if drug-eluting stents were available were diffuse coronary narrowing (OR: 15.78), restenotic lesions (OR: 27.86), and small coronary arteries (OR: 26).


CONCLUSIONS
Drug-eluting stents may have a significant impact on cardiac surgery volume (approximately a 21% decrease in our center). It may also direct patients with small vessels, diffuse narrowing, or restenotic lesions and diabetic patients to percutaneous therapy.
Ferreira
Alexandre C
AC
Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA. aferreir@med.miami.edu
Peter
Arley A
AA
Salerno
Tomas A
TA
Bolooki
Hooshang
H
de Marchena
Eduardo
E
D000368:Aged; D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D023903:Coronary Restenosis / Q000517:prevention & control; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015607:Stents