Favorable long-term outcome after drug-eluting stent implantation in nonbifurcation lesions that involve unprotected left main coronary artery - A multicenter registry

Background - The presence of a lumen narrowing at the ostium and the body of an unprotected left main coronary artery but does not require bifurcation treatment is a class I indication of surgical revascularization. Methods and Results - A total of 147 consecutive patients who had a stenosis in the ostium and/or the midshaft of an unprotected left main coronary artery ( treatment of the bifurcation not required) and were electively treated with percutaneous coronary intervention and sirolimus-eluting stents ( n = 107) or paclitaxel-eluting stents ( n = 40) in 5 centres were included in this registry. In 72 patients ( almost 50%), intravascular ultrasound guidance was performed. Procedural success was achieved in 99% of the patients; in 1 patient with stenosis in the left main coronary artery ostium, a > 30% residual stenosis persisted at the end of the procedure, and the patient was referred for coronary artery bypass graft surgery. During hospitalization, no patients experienced a Q-wave myocardial infarction or died. One patient died 19 days after the procedure because of pulmonary infection. At long-term clinical follow-up ( 886 +/- 308 days), 5 patients had died; 7 patients had target vessel revascularization ( 5 repeat percutaneous coronary interventions and 2 coronary artery bypass graft surgeries), and of these only 1 patient had a target lesion revascularization. Angiographic follow-up was performed in 106 patients ( 72%) with a late loss of - 0.01 mm. Restenosis in the left main trunk occurred only in 1 patient ( 0.9%). Conclusions - Percutaneous coronary intervention with sirolimus-eluting stents or paclitaxel-eluting stents implantation in nonbifurcation left main coronary artery lesions appears safe with a long-term major adverse clinical event rate of 7.4% and a restenosis rate of 0.9%.