Background and Purpose-Studies have suggested that the early excess risk of stroke in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) may be compensated for by a slow but progressive catch-up phenomenon in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We therefore undertook this analysis to compare the temporal stroke risk between PCI and CABG in patients with unprotected left main stenosis and multivessel coronary artery disease. Methods-Studies of PCI versus CABG for unprotected left main stenosis and multivessel disease published between January 1994 (stent era) and July 2013 were identified using an electronic search and reviewed using meta-analytic techniques. Results-We selected 57 reports for the meta-analysis by applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The primary search terms used were CABG and PCI. For the Cochrane database the search terms were limited by the term clinical trial. Limiting the search parameters to the English language was applied subsequently. Citations were screened at the title and abstract level and retrieved as full reports if they were clinical studies, compared PCI with CABG, and provided information on the outcome of stroke. The full texts of all potential articles were reviewed in detail. The bibliography of retained studies was used to seek additional relevant studies.
Inclusion CriteriaStudies were included if the following criteria applied: (1) comparative trials of CABG versus PCI with stent placement, (2) unprotected left main stenosis of >50% narrowing or multivessel disease, (3) a minimum of 30 patients, and (4) a minimum follow-up of 1 year. When 2 similar studies were reported from the same institution or author, the most recent publication was included in the analysis.
Exclusion CriteriaStudies were excluded if any of the following criteria applied: (1) outcome of interest was not clearly reported or was impossible to extract or calculate from the published results, (2) <1-year follow-up, (3) included patients with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction, and (4) included patients with percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty without stents.
Data ExtractionInformation collected included first author, year and journal of publication, study design, inclusion/exclusion criteria, definition of primary and secondary end points, number of subjects included, subjects undergoing PCI and CABG, percentage of drug-eluting stent used, study population demographics, number of diseased vessels, stenting technique, type of CABG (on pump versus off pump), left internal mammary artery graft used (single versus double), follow-up time period, rates of angiographic follow-up, antiplatelet regimen used, and primary and secondary outcomes. There was no disagreement between the 2 reviewers (G.A. and P.C.).