A Study of the Safety and Efficacy of ≥ 36 mm Long Drug Eluting Stents for Diffuse Coronary Disease

Abstract

AIM: Diffuse lesion, which is commonly observed in routine clinical practice, often leads to the use of long or overlapping stents. Long stents can increase the risk of restenosis and stent thrombosis. There is a paucity of research on long term efficacy and safety of long drug eluting stents (DES) in these complex lesions. METHODS: In this prospective study, consecutive patients who had undergone coronary stenting with ≥36 mm DES stents were studied. The clinical follow up was performed in the hospital 6 and 12 months after the surgery. The clinical endpoints were major adverse cardiac events (MACE) including cardiac death, myocardial infarction, repeat revascularization and stent thrombosis. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 121 patients, out of whom 58% were male, with a mean age of 60.3 years old. 23.4% had diabetes and 34% had a history o1f myocardial infarct. Most of them had undergone post dilated high pressure (≥20 atm) with NC balloon. 19.6% of patients underwent overlapping stents. The mean size and length of stent were 2.86 mm and 42 mm respectively. 3.3% of patients suffered from non-Q wave myocardial infarct in the hospital. No other MACE including stent thrombosis, cardiac death and myocardial infarct were detected. CONCLUSION: The findings show the efficacy of ≥36 mm DES for the treatment of complex diffuse disease andwith a very low MACE rate.