Bioresorbable vascular scaffolds in the routine clinical practice: long-term results

Introduction and objectives: Recent publications suggest that bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVS) are associated with an excess of thrombotic complications. We present the real-world, long-term results of a series of patients who received the Absorb BVS (Abbott Vascular, United States). Methods: A total of 213 consecutive patients who received at least 1 BVS between May 2012 and December 2016 were analyzed. The main objective of the study was the rate of target vessel failure, a composite endpoint of infarction or target vessel revascularization and cardiac death. Results: Seventy-five per cent of the patients were men (mean age, 61.4 years). The most common cause for admission was non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (53.52%). The median follow-up was 44 months [28 months], the rate of the primary endpoint was 6.57% for the first 24 months and 7.98% at the end of the follow-up. Regarding the device, there were 6 cases (2.81%) of thrombosis (definitive, probable or possible) and 10 cases (4.69%) of restenosis. Patients with a past medical history of diabetes mellitus (HR, 1.72; 95%CI, 1.01-2.95; P =.05) and/or chronic oral anticoagulation (HR, 5.71; 95%CI, 1.12-28.94; P =.04) had a higher risk of target vessel failure. Conclusions: In this series of patients, the rate of target vessel failure was similar to the one previously described by randomized clinical trials. Events were more common during the first 2 years of follow-up and in the presence of greater cardiovascular comorbidity.