Stent length has been considered an important predictor of adverse events after percutaneous coronary intervention, even with the first-generation drug-eluting stents (DESs). The introduction of newer-generation DES has further reduced the rates of adverse clinical events such as restenosis, myocardial infarction, and stent thrombosis. The aim of this study was to compare the impact of stent length on the long-term clinical outcomes between first- and newer-generation DESs. The effects of stent length (≥32 vs <32 mm) on the clinical outcomes were evaluated in 8,445 patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention using either a first-generation DES (sirolimus- and paclitaxel-eluting stents, n = 6,334) or a newer-generation DES (everolimus- and zotarolimus-eluting stents, n = 2,111) from January 2004 to December 2009. The 3-year adverse outcomes (composite of all-cause death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, target vessel revascularization, and stent thrombosis) were compared using the inverse probability of treatment-weighted method according to the stent length. After adjustment for differences in the baseline risk factors, a stent length of ≥32 mm was significantly associated with higher cumulative rates of target vessel revascularization and stent thrombosis in the patients treated with a first-generation DES (adjusted hazard ratio 1.875, 95% confidence interval 1.531 to 2.297, p <0.001; adjusted hazard ratio 2.964, 95% confidence interval 1.270 to 6.917, p = 0.012), but it was not associated with the clinical outcomes in patients treated with a newer-generation DES. In conclusion, stent length might not be associated with long-term clinical outcomes in newer-generation DES era, whereas stent length might be associated with long-term clinical outcomes in the first-generation DESs.
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