Abstract
Background
Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of unprotected left main coronary artery disease is currently recommended as an alternative to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients with low and intermediate SYNTAX score.
Purpose
We sought to compare clinical outcomes of unprotected left main coronary artery disease by PCI or CABG in a “real world” population referred to high volume center.
Methods
All consecutive patients with unprotected left main coronary artery disease treated by PCI with second-generation drug-eluting stent were compared to those treated by CABG. The primary endpoint was the composite of death, non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke at 2 years follow-up.
Results
A total of 558 patients were included. The mean age was 71±9 years, diabetes was present in 29%, and 56% of the patients presented with acute coronary syndrome. The distal left main coronary artery was involved in 84.6% of the lesions, the rate of Syntax score >32 was 50%. At 2 years, the primary end-point occurred in 10% of the patients in the PCI group and in 9.6% in the CABG group (p=0.862). The rates of death, non-fatal MI or stroke at 2 years were comparable; conversely the rate of ischemia driven revascularization at 2 years was higher in PCI group than CABG (5.5% and 1.5% p=0.010, respectively in PCI and CABG group).
Kaplan-Meier curves of MACCE
Conclusions
In a “real world” population with unprotected left main coronary artery disease, PCI with second generation stent, as compared to CABG, showed similar rates of the composite end point of death, non-fatal MI or stroke at 2 years, irrespective of coronary anatomy complexity.
Comparison of drug-eluting stent versus bypass surgery for patients with unprotected left main coronary artery disease and SYNTAX score <33: Impact of second-generation drug-eluting stent