Comparison between biodegradable- and durable-polymer everolimus-eluting stents in hemodialysis patients with coronary artery disease

To investigate the clinical outcomes after biodegradable-polymer (BP) and durable-polymer (DP) everolimus-eluting stent (EES) implantation in hemodialysis (HD) patients with coronary artery disease. We enrolled 221 consecutive HD patients successfully treated with EES implantation for coronary lesions. Over the following 2 years, we assessed the incidence of target lesion revascularization (TLR) and major adverse cardiac event (MACE), defined as the composite endpoint of TLR, all-cause mortality, or myocardial infarction. We performed a propensity-score matching analysis and collected follow-up coronary angiography data. There were 91 patients in the BP-EES group and 130 in the DP-EES group. Male sex and diabetes rates were significantly lower in the BP-EES group than in the DP-EES group. A debulking device was less frequently used in the BP-EES group than in the DP-EES group (7.6% vs. 21.5%, p = 0.006). TLR occurred in 38 patients, while stent thrombosis was observed in 3 patients; 19 patients died. TLR and MACE rates at 2 years were comparable between the two groups (19.2% in the BP-EES group vs. 20.4% in the DP-EES group, p = 0.73 and 26.9% vs. 34.2%, p = 0.93, respectively). In the propensity-score-matched cohort, TLR and MACE rates were similar between the two groups (19.2% in the BP-EES group vs. 18.1% in the DP-EES group, p = 0.69, and 26.9% vs. 30.2%, p = 0.66, respectively). Restenosis rates at follow-up angiography were similar between the two groups (p = 0.79). In hemodialysis patients, BP-EES and DP-EES showed similar 2-year clinical outcomes.