Risk of non-cardiac surgery after percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents

Elective non-cardiac surgery (NCS) should optimally be delayed one year after implantation of a drug-eluting stent (DES). Dual antiplatelet therapy or at least aspirin is recommended to be continued considering the relative risk of stent thrombosis especially during the 4 weeks after DES implantation. However, these recommendations were supported by insufficient evidence. We investigated predictors for postoperative major adverse cardiovascular and cerebral event (MACCE) in 1582 patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery after DES implantation. 96 patients (6.1%) developed postoperative MACCE. In the propensity score-matched analysis, aspirin maintenance was not associated with MACCE (odds ratio [OR] 0.78, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.48–1.27, P = 0.320) and was associated with increased risk of major bleeding (OR 1.84, 95% CI 1.02–3.32, P = 0.044). When patients who underwent NCS within one month after DES implantation were matched with those who underwent NCS thereafter, the risk of MACCE was higher when surgery was done within 30 days after PCI (OR 2.21, 95% CI 1.05–4.66, P = 0.036). Maintenance of aspirin did not decrease MACCE after NCS in patients with DES and only increased the risk of major bleeding. NCS within one month after DES implantation was associated with higher incidence of MACCE. However, prospective trials are required to validate our results.