Selection of the stent is important for the outcome of angioplasty. A study suggests that DES is better choice than BMS, especially in saphenous vein graft lesion patients.

Team@CMHF

Drug-eluting stents (DES) should be the treatment of choice in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for de novo saphenous vein graft lesions, say the researchers.

In the study conducted, DES were associated with better clinical and angiographic outcomes up to 1 year, compared with bare-metal stents (BMS).

The results revealed that the incidence of the primary endpoint was significantly reduced by 36% in the 303 patients who received DES compared with the 307 patients who received BMS (p=0.02).

This association was largely driven by the significant reduction of target lesion revascularization by 51% with DES compared with BMS (p=0.01).

The reduction may have been caused by the increased antirestenotic efficacy of DES in saphenous vein grafts, they speculate.

The findings of this trial support further broadening of the indication for the use of DES in patients with coronary artery disease to include patients with lesions in saphenous vein grafts.

Cardiac surgeons should look to urgently increase their use of arterial grafts, thus restricting the population likely to experience the adverse consequences of degenerative vein graft disease in the future.

Reference:  http://www.incirculation.net/NewsItem/Drugeluting-stents-preferred-option-for-saphenous-.aspx