Drug-eluting stents versus coronary artery bypass grafting for left-main coronary artery disease.

OBJECTIVES: To compare follow-up outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents (DES-PCI) versus coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for left-main coronary artery disease (LMCAD), we performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies with propensity-score analysis.

METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched through November 2016. Eligible studies were RCTs or observational studies with propensity-score analysis of DES-PCI versus CABG enrolling patients with LMCAD and reporting ≥ 6-month mortality, myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, or repeat revascularization (RRV). Study-specific estimates were combined using inverse variance-weighted averages of logarithmic hazard ratios (HRs) in the random-effects model.

RESULTS: We identified 5 RCTs and 17 observational studies with propensity-score analysis enrolling a total of 12,387 patients. Pooled analysis demonstrated a significant increase in a composite of death, MI, and RRV (with/without stroke) after DES-PCI (HR, 1.42; P < 0.00001); no significant difference in a composite of death and MI (with/without stroke); no significant differences in mortality and stroke; a strong trend toward an increase in MI after DES-PCI (HR, 1.44; P = 0.05); and significant increases in any (HR, 1.86; P < 0.00001), target-vessel (HR, 3.28; P < 0.00001), and target-lesion RRV (HR, 2.26; P = 0.003) after DES-PCI.

CONCLUSIONS: When compared with CABG, DES-PCI for LMCAD was associated with increases in RRV and the composite of death, MI, and RRV (with/without stroke), despite no differences in mortality, MI, stroke, and the composite of death and MI (with/without stroke).