Korean J Med.  2011 Jun;80(6):661-663.

Is There a Benefit of Drug-Eluting Stents Rather than Bare Metal Stents in Large Coronary Artery Lesions?

• Lee WS

Abstract

Drug-eluting stents (DES) are widely used rather than bare metal stents (BMS) in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) because DES have been shown to dramatically reduce restenosis and improve the rate of event free survival. Many clinical trials have been shown the advantages of DES over BMS in subset of small coronary artery diseases. There are, however, conflicting reports on the advantages of DES over BMS for larger coronary artery lesions. In this issue of the journal, Kim et al investigated the clinical outcomes between DES and BMS in large coronary artery diseases. In future, additional large, randomized, controlled, muticenter trials with new generation DES and intravascular ultrasound-guided PCI will be needed to define the clear role of DES on large coronary artery lesions.

Keyword

Drug-eluting stents; Bare metal stents; Coronary artery disea

MeSH Terms

Coronary Artery Disease
Coronary Vessels
Disease-Free Survival
Drug-Eluting Stents
Percutaneous Coronary Intervention
Stents