Second Generation Drug-Eluting Stent Implantation versus Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting in the Treatment of Young Patients with Left Main and/or Multivessel Coronary Disease

BACKGROUND: Many studies have compared the outcomes of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for complex coronary artery disease (CAD). However, no trials have focused on young patients (<45 years) with complex CAD. We conducted a retrospective evaluation to compare the outcomes of a second-generation drug-eluting stent (DES) and CABG in young patients with LM or three-vessel disease. METHODS: In young patients with complex CAD who underwent PCI or CABG, a Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression before and after propensity score matching were used to compare major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE), including myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, death, and repeat revascularization. RESULTS: During follow-up, MACCE occurred in 20.5% of patients in the PCI group and 8.6% of patients in the CABG group (hazard ratio (HR): 3.263, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.379 to 7.722, p=0.007). Repeat revascularization occurred more frequently in the PCI group (18.9% vs. 3.7%, respectively, HR: 6.968, 95% CI: 2.036 to 23.842, p=0.002). There were no significant differences in the other endpoints. After propensity score matching, no conclusions were modified. CONCLUSIONS: In young patients with LM or three-vessel disease, PCI showed a higher incidence of MACCE, which was mainly driven by repeat revascularization. However, this did not translate into hard endpoint differences. Therefore, PCI is an alternative treatment to CABG in young patients with complex CAD.