Mortality following placement of drug-eluting and bare-metal stents for ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction in the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events.

Aims: To assess mortality after drug-eluting stent (DES) or bare-metal stent (BMS) for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

Methods And Results: In this multinational registry, 5093 STEMI patients received a stent: 1313 (26%) a DES and 3780 (74%) only BMS. Groups differed in baseline characteristics, type, or timing of percutaneous coronary intervention, with a higher baseline risk for patients receiving BMS. Two-year follow-up was available in 55 and 60% of the eligible BMS and DES patients, respectively. Unadjusted mortality was lower during hospitalization, similar for the first 6 months after discharge, and higher from 6 months to 2 years, for DES patients compared with that of BMS patients. Overall, unadjusted 2-year mortality was 5.3 vs. 3.9% for BMS vs. DES patients (P = 0.04). In propensity- and risk-adjusted survival analyses (Cox model), post-discharge mortality was not different up to 6 months (P = 0.21) or 1 year (P = 0.34). Late post-discharge mortality was higher in DES patients from 6 months to 2 years (HR 4.90, P = 0.01) or from 1 to 2 years (HR 7.06, P = 0.02). Similar results were observed when factoring in hospital mortality.

Conclusion: The observation of increased late mortality with DES vs. BMS suggests that DES should probably be avoided in STEMI, until more long-term data become available.