Effect of length and diameter of drug-eluting stents versus bare-metal stents on late outcomes.
BACKGROUND
The risk of restenosis and other adverse cardiac events with bare-metal stents (BMS) is increased with smaller stent diameters and longer stent lengths. Drug-eluting stents (DES) may reduce this effect in select patients; however, whether this benefit occurs in high-risk lesions and patients in routine practice is not clear.


RESULTS
Clinical outcomes (target-vessel revascularization [TVR], stent thrombosis, nonfatal myocardial infarction [MI], and cardiac death) at 2 years stratified by stented length and diameter were compared in 949 consecutive patients who received BMS and 1236 consecutive and comparable patients who received DES for single lesions. The longest tertile of BMS (>23 mm) was associated with increased hazard of TVR, ST, and nonfatal MI or death compared with shorter tertiles of BMS, which was abolished by DES. DES compared with BMS was independently associated with a lower hazard of TVR (HR, 0.34 [0.20 to 0.58]) and nonfatal MI or death (HR, 0.60 [0.39 to 0.92]) in the longest length tertile (>23 mm). No clear association of stented tertile diameter and clinical outcomes for either stent type was observed. However, DES compared with BMS was independently associated with a lower hazard of TVR for all diameter tertiles, and a lower hazard of nonfatal MI or death (0.66 [0.44 to 0.99]) in the largest diameter tertile (>3.4 mm).


CONCLUSIONS
Independent of adverse patient and lesion characteristics, DES demonstrated significantly lower hazard of TVR and nonfatal MI or death at 2 years compared with BMS within the longest stented lengths (>23 mm) and largest diameters (>3.4 mm).
Applegate
Robert J
RJ
Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Section of Cardiology, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1045, USA. bapplega@wfubmc.edu
Sacrinty
Matthew T
MT
Kutcher
Michael A
MA
Santos
Renato M
RM
Gandhi
Sanjay K
SK
Little
William C
WC
D000368:Aged; D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000401:mortality; D054855:Drug-Eluting Stents; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008670:Metals; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D012042:Registries; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D015607:Stents; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D008670:Metals