Comparison of Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting and Drug-Eluting Stents in Patients with Left Main Coronary Artery Disease and Chronic Kidney Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Treatment of left main coronary artery disease (LMCAD) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) with either percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) remains controversial. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the optimal choice of therapy when treating LMCAD in patients with CKD.

METHOD: We performed an electronic database search of Pubmed, Embase, and Cochrane Library for all studies that compared PCI with CABG when treating LMCAD in the setting of CKD. Major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) were the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included myocardial infarction (MI), cerebrovascular events, all-cause mortality, and repeat revascularization.

RESULTS: Our analysis included 5 studies (2 randomized controlled trial and 3 retrospective) representing a total of 1212 patients. Mean follow up was 3.4 ± 1.3 years. Our study demonstrated a significant reduction in MACCE for patients treated with CABG compared with PCI (odd ratio [OR] 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.55-0.95, P = 0.02, I2  = 0%). We also found a significant reduction in both MI (OR 0.55; 95% CI 0.34-0.87; P = 0.01; I2  = 0%) and repeat revascularization (OR 0.22; 95% CI 0.10-0.51; P < 0.001, I2  = 63%) in the CABG group. However, CABG was associated with increased risks of cerebrovascular disease events compared with PCI (OR 2.04; 95% CI 1.02-4.08; P = 0.04, I2  = 0%).

CONCLUSION: In patients with CKD requiring LMCAD intervention, CABG is associated with a lower risk of MACCE, MI, and repeat revascularization, however it was associated with an increased risk of cerebrovascular accidents when compared to patients who received PCI therapy. Further RCTs with sufficient power are required to confirm these findings.