Efficacy and safety of drug-eluting stenting compared with bypass grafting in diabetic patients with multivessel and/or left main coronary artery disease

Although percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stents (DESs) and bypass grafting are generally believed to be superior revascularization strategies in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), the optimal strategy for diabetic patients is still controversial. This meta-analysis was performed to compare two methods of revascularization for patients with diabetes mellitus with left main coronary artery lesions or disease in multiple coronary arteries. Compared with the coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) group, those receiving PCI-DES showed a greater risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.12, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01–1.25, P = 0.03), major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs) (HR: 1.85, 95% CI: 1.58–2.16; P < 0.001), stroke (HR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.02–1.29, P = 0.02), myocardial infarction (MI) (HR: 1.48, 95% CI: 1.04–2.09, P = 0.03), and repeat revascularization (HR: 3.23, 95% CI: 1.37–7.59, P = 0.007). CABG for diabetic patients with multivessel and/or left main CAD was superior to PCI-DES with regard to MACEs, MACCEs, MI, repeat revascularization and stroke, but there was no clear difference in all-cause mortality.