Biodegradable polymer versus second-generation durable polymer drug-eluting stents in patients with coronary artery disease: A meta-analysis.

Aims: Biodegradable polymer drug-eluting stents (BP-DES) were developed in hopes of reducing the risk of stent thrombosis. The comparison of this new stent platform with second-generation durable polymer drug-eluting stents (DP-DES) has not been well described. We, therefore, performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the safety and efficacy profiles of BP-DES versus second-generation DP-DES in patients with coronary artery disease.

Methods And Results: Electronic database searches were conducted, from their dates of inception to June 2018, to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing patients with either BP-DES or second-generation DP-DES. Risk estimates were expressed as risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We also performed a landmark analysis beyond 1 year and sensitivity analyses based on different variables. A total of 24,406 patients from 19 RCTs were included in the present meta-analysis. There were no significant differences between BP-DES and second-generation DP-DES for the risks of definite or probable stent thrombosis (RR 0.88; 95% CI, 0.69-1.12;  = 0.29), myocardial infarction (RR 0.97; 95% CI, 0.86-1.09;  = 0.59), cardiac death (RR 1.08; 95% CI, 0.92-1.28;  = 0.34), all-cause death (RR 1.02; 95% CI, 0.91-1.13;  = 0.77), target lesion revascularization (RR 1.05; 95% CI, 0.94-1.17;  = 0.38), and target vessel revascularization (RR 1.05; 95% CI, 0.95-1.16;  = 0.36). Similar outcomes were observed regardless of anti-proliferative drug and duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (all  > 0.05).

Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate similar safety and efficacy profiles between BP-DES and second-generation BP-DES, with comparable rates of stent thrombosis.