Background: It has been reported that sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) and paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) have been more effective than bare-metal stents in reducing restenosis and cardiac events in a broad range of patients with coronary artery disease. However, it is unknown whether there might be differences between these two drug-eluting stents in terms of efficacy and safety in the setting of acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Hypothesis: The aim of the present study was to compare SES with PES in patients with acute STEMI undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods: The published research was scanned by formal searches of electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) from January 2001 to February 2010. Internet-based sources of information on the results of clinical trials in cardiology were also searched. Results: A total of 4 randomized trials were included in the present meta-analysis, involving 1105 patients (550 in the SES group, 555 in the PES group). SES were significantly more effective in the reduction of angiographic binary (≥50%) restenosis (4.0% vs 9.6%, odds ratio 0.38, 95% confidence interval 0.19 to 0.74, P = 0.004) compared to PES. The differences between SES and PES were not statistically significant with respect to target vessel revascularization (TVR), stent thrombosis, cardiac death, and myocardial infarction. Conclusions: SES are superior to PES in reducing the incidence of restenosis in patients undergoing primary PCI for STEMI, with nonsignificant differences in terms of TVR, cardiac death, myocardial infarction, and stent thrombosis.
IntroductionPrimary angioplasty has become the standard of care for acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI); however, its long-term success is limited by the occurrence of restenosis. 1,2 The introduction of drugeluting stents (DES) has greatly alleviated this problem, 3 and their use in coronary intervention has markedly increased. DES decreases angiographic and clinical measurements of restenosis compared with bare metal stents 4,5 in elective patients and those with STEMI. A meta-analysis in a broad population has shown that sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) are superior to paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) in terms of late loss and target lesion revascularization (TLR). 6 However, the relative efficacy and safety of SES and PES in STEMI patients remains unclear. We therefore performed a meta-analysis of randomized