Polymer-free stents for percutaneous coronary intervention in diabetic patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Abstract

Aim: To compare the efficacy of polymer-free drug-eluting stents (PF-DES) versus other stents in diabetic patients with coronary artery diseaseundergoing percutaneous coronary interventions. Materials & methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to identify pertinent randomized controlled trials. The primary end point was the occurrence of target lesion failure. Results: Eight randomized controlled trials were included for a total of 4854subjects. The PF-DES group experienced a trend in favor of a lower rate of target lesion failure (Incidence rate ratio=0.91; p=0.11) and a significantly lower rate of cardiac mortality, as compared with the control group (Incidence rate ratio=0.82; p=0.04). However, statistical significance was lost if bare-metal stent patients were excluded and a trend in favor of the PF-DES strategy was reported only for cardiac mortality. Conclusion: PF-DES could be a valuable strategy in diabetic patients with coronary artery disease undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions.