Paclitaxel density and clinical efficacy of drug-coated balloon angioplasty for femoropopliteal artery disease: meta-analysis and adjusted indirect comparison of 20 randomised trials

Introduction

Multiple endovascular technologies have been evaluated as stand-alone or combined therapies for atherosclerotic disease of the femoropopliteal arteries1. Amongst others, balloon catheters coated with the taxol derivative paclitaxel, a highly lipophilic antiproliferative drug, have been associated with superior efficacy compared to plain balloons in the treatment of de novo and restenotic lesions of the femoropopliteal arteries2.

Despite the large number of DCB platforms currently available on the market, little is known regarding their comparative effectiveness in preventing the risk of repeat revascularisation. Against this background, we performed a meta-analysis of randomised trials comparing DCB versus plain ...