[Comparison of restenosis rate of bare-metal and drug-eluting stents in cardiac allograft vasculopathy]

Background and objective: To assess whether there are differences in the rate of restenosis between bare metal stents (BMS) and drug eluting stents (DES) implanted for the treatment of cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV).

Patients and methods: This retrospective study describes the baseline characteristics, clinical and angiographic evolution of a sample of heart transplant patients treated with coronary stent implantation due to CAV.

Results: We analyzed the follow-up of 40 stents (17 BMS and 23 DES). Mean follow-up was 28 ± 18 months (range 12 to 84). The DES group had a lower rate of active smoking, a higher percentage of residual stenosis and an increased use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers. Control angiography was performed in 33 stents (82%). In the BMS group (n=15), 8 restenosis were identified (53%) whereas 2 (11%) were seen in the DES group (n=18) (P=.02).

Conclusion: In this series a lower rate of restenosis was observed in the DES group, attributable to the effect of the drug released locally by the stent.