Premium
Efficacy and Safety of Drug‐Eluting Stents: Current Best Available Evidence
Author(s) -
Raja Shahzad G.,
Dreyfus Gilles D.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of cardiac surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.428
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1540-8191
pISSN - 0886-0440
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-8191.2006.00325.x
Subject(s) - medicine , restenosis , percutaneous coronary intervention , bare metal , drug , stent , interventional cardiology , drug eluting stent , cardiology , intensive care medicine , surgery , myocardial infarction , pharmacology
The development of drug‐eluting coronary stents has proved to be a quantum advance in interventional cardiology, rivaling the impact of stenting itself. Drug‐eluting coronary stents deliver effective local concentrations of antiproliferative drugs (thus avoiding systemic toxicities), without substantially modifying the technique of percutaneous coronary intervention. Studies involving several different stent platforms and antiproliferative drug coatings have recently demonstrated dramatic reductions in restenosis rates, compared to conventional bare metal stents. Although the clinical benefits of drug‐eluting stents are increasingly evident, important concerns about their long‐term safety and costs have been raised. Furthermore, drug‐eluting stents are being claimed to replace coronary artery bypass surgery in the near future. This review article evaluates the current best available evidence on the efficacy and safety of drug‐eluting stents with a focus on the impact of this “revolutionary” new technology on the practice of coronary artery bypass surgery.