Yao-Jun Zhang1, MD, PhD; Dao-Rong Pan1, MSc; Si Pang1, MSc; Wen Wu1, MSc; Bo Xu2*, MBBS
1. Department of Cardiology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China; 2. Fu Wai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Beijing, China
Percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents (DES) has substantially improved clinical outcomes in patients with coronary artery disease, when compared with bare metal stents. However, permanent polymers of first-generation DES were linked with local inflammation, hypersensitivity reactions, and neoatherosclerosis, leading to an increased risk of very late stent thrombosis and DES failure at long-term follow-up. Recently, studies and meta-analyses have shown superiority of the new-generation DES with biodegradable or biocompatible polymer to previous-generation DES in terms of improved clinical outcomes1,2. However, whether the long-term clinical performance of these two types of DES after implantation is comparable remains debatable.