Polymer-free amphilimus-eluting stents comparable to drug-eluting stents—and offer a potential advantage
Polymer-free amphilimus-eluting stents (PF-AESs) are noninferior to drug-eluting stents (DESs) when treating coronary artery disease (CAD) patients with coronary revascularization, according to a new meta-analysis published in the American Journal of Cardiology.[1]
“Polymer-free DESs are based on different technologies for drug binding and release without the use of polymer coatings,” wrote first author Dimitrios Patoulias, MD, MSc, a specialist with Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece, and colleagues. “We searched PubMed and Cochrane Library databases for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) enrolling adult subjects, regardless of diabetes mellitus status at baseline, treated either with a PF-AES or DES for CAD.”
The team’s analysis included four RCTs that covered more than 3,000 CAD patients. Two independent reviewers extracted all relevant data from the RCTs.
Overall, the two treatment approaches were associated with similar results. There was “no significant difference” when it came to the patient’s risk of all-cause death or target-lesion revascularization.
Treatment with a PF-AES, however, was linked to a “significantly lower risk” of myocardial infarction. To the best of the group’s knowledge, this is the first meta-analysis to uncover such a relationship with stents using coronary revascularization
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Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.