Epitaph for bare-metal stents: Unlearning is hard to do

Key Points Use of bare metal stents (BMS) saw a significant decline between 2013 and 2017 across 18 medical centers in Italy. Indications for BMS most frequently included perceived risk of thrombosis during STEMI therapy or bleeding in the elderly or others from prolonged antiplatelet therapy despite information that was available to the contrary. Persistent use of BMS represents an example of the problem of unlearning old information so that new and better practice patterns can be incorporated into practice.

Automated summary

Between 2013 and 2017, there was a significant decrease in the use of bare metal stents (BMS) across 18 medical centers in Italy. The most common indications for BMS included perceived thrombosis risk during STEMI therapy and bleeding from prolonged antiplatelet therapy in the elderly. However, the persistent use of BMS highlights the challenge of unlearning old information in order to adopt new and improved practice patterns.