[Long-term clinical benefits of using active stents in diabetic patients: two year follow-up of a consecutive series of 122 patients].

The objective of our study is to evaluate the long-term results of coronary angioplasty using active stents in a population of diabetic patients. This is a single-centre study on a consecutive series of 122 diabetic patients (40% of them insulin dependent) who between January 2003 and June 2004 underwent angioplasty with implantation of an active stent (sirolimus Cypher(R) or paclitaxel Taxus(R)) for one or more de novo coronary lesions. The mean age was 66 +/- 10 years and a total of 171 coronary segments were treated. The lesions treated were complex (type B2 + C) in 69% of the cases, with a mean stent length of 21 +/- 15 mm and a mean stent diameter of 2.7 +/- 0.3 mm. Follow-up at two years for 119 patients (3 lost to follow-up) revealed a mortality rate of 4.2%, and a myocardial infarction rate of 7.5%. The rates for revascularisation of the target lesion and the target vessel were 11.4% and 17.8% respectively, with a rate of major cardiac events of 22.5%. During this period, 25.2% of the patients underwent revascularisation of at least one vessel. This study confirms the benefits of using active stents for revascularisation of the target lesion in diabetic patients. However, it serves as a reminder that the progression of coronary atheroma is global, and that the prognosis for these patients depends essentially upon managing risk factors, and particularly on controlling their diabetes.