Long-term outcomes of biodegradable polymer versus durable polymer drug-eluting stents in patients with diabetes a pooled analysis of individual patient data from 3 randomized trials.

BACKGROUND: There is ongoing debate on the optimal drug-eluting stent (DES) in diabetic patients with coronary artery disease. Biodegradable polymer drug-eluting stents (BP-DES) may potentially improve clinical outcomes in these high-risk patients. We sought to compare long-term outcomes in patients with diabetes treated with biodegradable polymer DES vs. durable polymer sirolimus-eluting stents (SES).
METHODS: We pooled individual patient-level data from 3 randomized clinical trials (ISAR-TEST 3, ISAR-TEST 4 and LEADERS) comparing biodegradable polymer DES with durable polymer SES. Clinical outcomes out to 4 years were assessed. The primary end point was the composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction and target-lesion revascularization. Secondary end points were target lesion revascularization and definite or probable stent thrombosis.
RESULTS: Of 1094 patients with diabetes included in the present analysis, 657 received biodegradable polymer DES and 437 durable polymer SES. At 4 years, the incidence of the primary end point was similar with BP-DES versus SES (hazard ratio = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.74-1.21, P = 0.67). Target lesion revascularization was also comparable between the groups (hazard ratio = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.65-1.22, P = 0.47). Definite or probable stent thrombosis was significantly reduced among patients treated with BP-DES (hazard ratio = 0.52, 95% CI = 0.28-0.96, P = 0.04), a difference driven by significantly lower stent thrombosis rates with BP-DES between 1 and 4 years (hazard ratio = 0.15, 95% CI = 0.03-0.70, P = 0.02).
CONCLUSIONS: In patients with diabetes, biodegradable polymer DES, compared to durable polymer SES, were associated with comparable overall clinical outcomes during follow-up to 4 years. Rates of stent thrombosis were significantly lower with BP-DES.