Drug eluting versus bare metal stents for percutaneous coronary intervention of saphenous vein graft lesions: An updated meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is the preferred strategy for treatment of saphenous vein graft (SVG) disease. However, there remains ongoing debate on whether drug-eluting stents (DES) or bare-metal stents (BMS) should be used during SVG-PCI.

METHODS/MATERIALS: We performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing DES and BMS for SVG-PCI. The primary end point was major adverse cardiac events (MACE), defined as composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction (MI) or repeat revascularization. Secondary end points included individual MACE components, cardiac death and stent thrombosis (ST).

RESULTS: Six RCTs including 1582 patients (50% receiving DES) met inclusion criteria. MACE occurred in 31% (244/797) patients receiving DES and 36% (281/785) patients receiving BMS (median follow-up, 12-35 months). There was no significant difference in MACE between DES and BMS (Odds Ratio (OR) 0.62, 95%CI 0.36-1.09, p = 0.10, I2  = 77%). However, for individual components of MACE, DES was associated with a significant reduction in repeat revascularization (OR 0.53, 95%CI 0.29-0.97, p = 0.04, I2  = 73%). There was no difference in all-cause death (OR 1.30, 95%CI 0.77-2.20, p = 0.33, I2  = 40%), MI (OR 0.68, 95%CI 0.38-1.25, p = 0.22, I2  = 56%), cardiac death (OR 1.08, 95%CI 0.45-2.64, p = 0.86, I2  = 42%) or ST (OR 0.89, 95%CI 0.37-2.17, p = 0.80, I2  = 35%) between stents.

CONCLUSIONS: Although there was no significant difference in MACE, DES is associated with a reduction in repeat revascularization compared with BMS in pooled randomized trials for SVG-PCI. The high occurrence of MACE in both stent platforms highlights the need for novel therapeutic approaches to improve clinical outcomes following SVG intervention.

SUMMARY: We performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials comparing DES and BMS for SVG-PCI. There was no significant difference in MACE between DES and BMS. However, for individual components of MACE, DES was associated with a significant reduction in repeat revascularization. The high occurrence of MACE in both stent platforms highlights the need for novel therapeutic approaches to improve clinical outcomes following SVG intervention.