Distal Left Main Coronary Bifurcation Lesions Predict Worse Outcome in Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Implantation of Drug-Eluting Stents: Results from the Drug-Eluting Stent for the Treatment of Left Main Disease (DISTAL) Study

Objectives: We investigated the clinical outcome of stenting of unprotected left main coronary artery (LMCA). Methods: We studied 164 patients with nonbifurcated LMCA lesions (group A) and 96 patients with distal bifurcated lesions (group B). Results: Clinical follow-up was available in 100%. Angiographic follow-up was 87.3% in group A and 86% in group B (p = 0.922). There were significant differences in major adverse cardiac events at 1 (p = 0.014) and 2 years (p = 0.002) between group B (19.8%, 25.0%) and group A (9.1%, 10.4%), mainly due to increased target-vessel revascularization (16.7, 21.9% in group B vs. 6.1, 7.3% in group A, p = 0.006 and 0.001, respectively). The double-stent technique was associated with worse outcomes at 1 year in group B compared to group A. Bifurcation lesions (HR 3.42, 95% Cl 1.34-5.61, p = 0.001), diabetes (HR 2.68, 95% Cl 2.01-12.11, p = 0.015), three-vessel disease (HR 0.83, 95% Cl 0.27-0.96, p = 0.001), incomplete revascularization (HR 0.15, 95% Cl 0.11-0.35, p = 0.001) and stent diameter (HR 5.05, 95% Cl 2.71-10.01, p = 0.03) were the independent factors of major adverse cardiac events in the whole patient cohort. Conclusion: Stenting unprotected distal bifurcated LMCA was associated with unfavorable results when compared to stenting other LMCA lesions. Copyright (C) 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel