Long-term outcomes of patients receiving drug-eluting stents

Andrew C Philpott1, Danielle A Southern, Fiona M Clement

  • 1Department of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta.

Insights

Drug-eluting stents show initial safety and effectiveness in the first year post-implantation compared to bare-metal stents. However, long-term risks may increase, warranting further investigation into late adverse events.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Interventional Cardiology
  • Biomaterials Science

Background:

  • Drug-eluting stents (DES) aim to improve outcomes compared to bare-metal stents (BMS).
  • Long-term safety data in real-world settings are crucial for clinical decision-making.
  • Usual care settings provide valuable insights into stent performance.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the long-term safety and efficacy of DES versus BMS.
  • To evaluate rates of death and repeat revascularization over a 3-year follow-up period.
  • To assess stent performance in a large, consecutive patient cohort.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective multicentre registry analysis.
  • Inclusion of 6440 patients undergoing angioplasty with DES or BMS.
  • 3-year follow-up for mortality and repeat revascularization events.

Main Results:

  • DES were implanted in 1120 patients, BMS in 5320, with DES patients having higher comorbidity burden.
  • In year 1, DES showed lower mortality (3.0% vs 3.7%) and composite outcome (12.0% vs 15.8%) rates.
  • From year 2 onwards, risk profiles shifted, with higher relative risks for composite outcomes with DES compared to BMS.

Conclusions:

  • Drug-eluting stents demonstrate safety and effectiveness within the first year post-procedure.
  • Potential for increased adverse events with drug-eluting stents in later years (2-3) cannot be excluded.
  • Long-term surveillance is essential for understanding the evolving risk-benefit profile of DES.
Abstract

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