title: Comparison of a polymer-free rapamycin-eluting stent (YUKON) with a polymer-based paclitaxel-eluting stent (TAXUS) in real-world coronary artery lesions.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In selected patient cohorts the polymer-free rapamycin-eluting YUKON stent (A) has demonstrated noninferiority compared with the polymer-based paclitaxel-eluting TAXUS stent (B). To test for equivalency in unselected real-world patients with coronary lesions of various complexities, we retrospectively compared both stent designs.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 410 patients with symptomatic CAD were successfully treated with A (n = 205) or with B (n = 205). Baseline clinical characteristics, coronary lesion location, lesion length, and the number of stents implanted per lesion were equally distributed between the treatment groups. All patients underwent QCA-analysis at baseline. Clinical follow-up with assessment of MACE and noncardiac deaths was obtained at 30 days and 6 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nominal stent diameter was 2.96 +/- 0.38 mm in Group A vs. 3.05 +/- 0.42 mm in Group B (P = 0.2); nominal length of stented segmentwas 22.97 +/-13.0 mm vs. 23.63 +/- 10.0 (P = 0.56). Analysis of MACE after 6 months resulted in one angiographically documented stent thrombosis causing MI in B (0.2%) vs. none in A. No other MI or cardiac deaths occurred in either group, while two noncardiac deaths in A (1.0%) were reported. Fifteen target lesion revascularizations (7.3%) were performed in A vs. 7 (3.4%) in B. Differences in study endpoints at 6 months did not reach statistical significance (P > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Up to 6 months after PCI of real-world coronary lesions, there were no statistically significant differences in MACE between patients treated with the polymer-free rapamycin-eluting YUKON stent and the polymer-based paclitaxel-eluting TAXUS stent.
authors.affiliation: Red Cross Hospital Cardiology Center, Frankfurt, Germany. j.ruef@kardiocentrum-ffm.de
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ruef
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Störger
authors.forename: Franz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schwarz
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Haase
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary / Q000379:methods; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001241:Aspirin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015331:Cohort Studies; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000379:methods; D023903:Coronary Restenosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology; D023921:Coronary Stenosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D054855:Drug-Eluting Stents; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011108:Polymers; D011336:Probability; D011379:Prognosis; D012016:Reference Values; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020123:Sirolimus / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014654:Vascular Patency / Q000502:physiology; D014665:Vasodilator Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; D011108:Polymers; D014665:Vasodilator Agents; D017239:Paclitaxel; D001241:Aspirin; D020123:Sirolimus