Stent Thrombosis in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease Treated With Biodegradable Polymer Drug-Eluting Stents

Delayed re-endothelialization may be the pathophysiological cause of stent thrombosis (ST). Biodegradable polymer drug-eluting stents (BP-DES) may reduce the risk of ST. The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk of ST in patients treated with BP-DES. Studies were retrieved from the PubMed, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE online databases. Twelve studies (15,155 patients) with long-term follow-up (>= 12 months) were included. Compared with durable polymer drug-eluting stents (DP-DES), BP-DES did not significantly decrease the risk of definite and probable ST (RR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.68 to 1.18; P = 0.425) and definite ST (RR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.66 to 1.30; P = 0.648). Furthermore, there was no difference in the risk of late ST (RR, 1.17; 95% CI, 0.39 to 3.53; P = 0.780). However, the rate of early ST was slightly higher in the BP-DES group (RR, 1.60; 95% CI, 0.94 to 2.73; P = 0.084) than in the DP-DES group. A significant reduction in very late ST (> 12 months) was evident with the BP-DES group (RR, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.10 to 0.68; P = 0.006). Subgroup analysis showed that there was no difference in the rate of definite and probable ST between the BP-DES and first- or second-generation DES groups. Biodegradable polymer stents were associated with a significantly lower risk of very late ST. However, there was no difference in the risk of definite and probable ST between the two groups.