Long-Term Outcomes of Unprotected Left Main Coronary Artery Disease: Comparison of Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting and Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Objective. We compared the long-term outcomes of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for unprotected left main coronary artery (ULMCA) disease in a real-world population. Background. CABG is the standard of care for ULMCA disease. Contemporary randomized trials have reported conflicting results with the two revascularization strategies for the treatment of ULMCA disease at intermediate-term follow-up. Methods. We evaluated 422 consecutive patients with ULMCA disease who underwent CABG (n = 273) or PCI (n = 149) from 1998-2008. The primary outcome measure was major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event (MACCE) rate, defined as the composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, or target-vessel revascularization (TVR) at 10 years. Propensity-score matched (PSM) analysis was used to assess long-term MACCE. Results. The cumulative 10-year incidence of risk for MACCE was not significantly different between the PCI and CABG groups (24.8% vs 20.5%, respectively: log rank P=.22: log rank PSM P=.45). The risk for all-cause death was not significantly different between the two groups (log rank P=.09: PSM log rank P=.51). The risk for stroke was significantly lower with PCI (log rank P=.02), but was not significant after matching (PSM log rank P=.27). The risk for TVR was significantly higher with PCI vs CABG prior to and after matching (log rank P<.001; log rank PSM P=.01). There were no significant differences in MACCE between the two groups when stratified by SYNTAX scores <= 22% (log rank P=.61) and >23% (log rank P=.06). Conclusion. In patients with ULMCA disease, PCI was comparable with CABG for long-term MACCE and death rates. The TVR rate was higher in the PCI group.