Revascularization in patients with diabetes: PCI or CABG or none at all.

Patients with diabetes have a high incidence of coronary artery disease, with particularly high rates of acute coronary syndromes and mortality. Revascularization by coronary artery bypass grafting was found to be effective in reducing angina and mortality in patients with extensive coronary artery disease over 30 years ago. Percutaneous coronary intervention, particularly with drug-eluting stents, has more recently been demonstrated to reduce recurrent angina and improve quality of life in diabetic patients with less extensive coronary artery disease. Most recently, coronary artery bypass grafting has been shown to be superior to percutaneous coronary intervention in improving mortality in patients with diabetes and three-vessel coronary artery disease who are not at high surgical risk. The role of coronary artery bypass grafting vs. percutaneous coronary intervention in patients who have less extensive coronary artery disease and/or higher surgical risk has not been fully elucidated. Newer treatment strategies, such as percutaneous coronary intervention with second-generation drug-eluting stents, use of fractional flow reserve guidance, or hybrid revascularization combining minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting with percutaneous coronary intervention, may result in further improvements in outcomes in patients with diabetes and coronary artery disease.