Long-term outcomes following drug-eluting balloons vs. thin-strut drug-eluting stents for treatment of recurrent restenosis in drug-eluting stents

Background: There is limited data on the optimal revascularization strategy in patients with recurrent in-stent restenosis (R-ISR). Aims: To compare the long-term outcomes of patients treated with either a thin-strut drug-eluting stent (thin-DES) or a drug-eluting balloon (DEB) for R-ISR in a drug-eluting stent (DES). Methods: A multicenter DEB-DRAGON registry was used to retrospectively identify patients with R-ISR who received either a thin-DES or a DEB. Propensity score matching was applied to adjust for baseline differences. The primary outcome was target lesion revascularization (TLR). Results: Out of 311 patients (mean age, 67 years; 63% male) with R-ISR, 86 (27.7%) were treated with a thin-DES and 225 (72.3%) with a DEB. Median follow-up was 2.6 years. TLR occurred in 18 (20.9%) patients who received thin-DES and 61 (27.1%) patients treated with DEB (hazard ratio [HR], 0.57; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.33-0.98; log-rank P = 0.04). The difference remained significant in a propensity score-matched cohort of 57 patients treated with thin-DES and 57 patients treated with a DEB (17.5 vs. 33.3%, respectively; HR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.17-0.86; P = 0.01). The risks of device-oriented adverse cardiac events and all-cause mortality were similar after thin-DES or DEB in both unadjusted and propensity score-matched cohorts. In a multivariable Cox proportional hazard model, the treatment with a thin-DES was an independent predictor of a TLR-free survival (HR, 0.33; 95% CI 0.13-0.84; P = 0.02). Conclusions: In patients with R-ISR implantation of a thin-DES is associated with a lower risk of repeated revascularization compared with angioplasty with a DEB.

Automated summary

Implantation of a thin-DES in patients with R-ISR is associated with a lower risk of repeated revascularization compared with angioplasty with a DEB. The risks of device-oriented adverse cardiac events and all-cause mortality were similar after thin-DES or DEB in both unadjusted and propensity score-matched cohorts.