Three-year follow-up of the first prospective randomized comparison between paclitaxel and sirolimus stents: the TAXi-LATE trial.

Goal: Analysis of the 3-year outcome of the original population of the TAXi trial which compared the efficacy of the paclitaxel (PES) and the sirolimus (SES) stents in a randomized "real world" investigation.

History: The widespread use of drug-eluting stents strongly modified the world of interventional cardiology. The TAXi trial was a randomized comparison between PES and SES and showed similar efficacy between the two prostheses.

A prospective randomized comparison between paclitaxel and sirolimus stents in the real world of interventional cardiology: the TAXi trial.

Objectives: We conducted this trial to assess whether a sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) produces similar results to a paclitaxel-eluting stent (PES) when used in the real world of interventional cardiology.

Background: Several drug-eluting stents have been shown to exert a beneficial effect on restenosis when used in the treatment of coronary artery disease. Any potential superiority of one drug over the others, however, is still unknown.