Safety and Clinical Effectiveness of Drug-Eluting Stents for Saphenous Vein Graft Intervention in Older Individuals: Results From the Medicare-Linked National Cardiovascular Data Registry® CathPCI Registry® (2005-2009)

Objectives: To evaluate the safety of drug-eluting stents (DES) when treating patients with failing saphenous vein grafts (SVG). Background: DES reduce target vessel revascularization in patients with failing SVGs; however, compared with bare metal stents (BMS), DES have been variably associated with increased mortality. Methods: Clinical records from National Cardiovascular Data Registry (R) CathPCI Registry (R) (49,325 older individuals [>= 65 years] who underwent SVG stenting 2005-2009) were linked to Medicare claims to create a longitudinal record. Death, myocardial infarction (MI), and urgent revascularization with DES versus BMS were evaluated to 3 years using propensity matching (PM). Results were stratified by clinical presentation (acute coronary syndrome [ACS], non-ACS), previous lesion treatment (in-stent, de novo), and graft segment (aortic, body, distal anastomosis). Results: In this older cohort (median age, 75 years), acute presentations were prevalent (ACS, 69%; TIMI flow <3, 45%), and adverse clinical outcomes were common by 3 years (death, 24.5%; MI, 14.6%; urgent revascularization, 29.5%). Among DES patients (n = 31,403), 3-year mortality was lower (vs. BMS) (22.7% vs. 28.0%, P < 0.001; PM hazard ratio [HR] 0.87, 95% confidence interval 0.83-0.91), and no difference was observed in the adjusted risk for MI (PM HR 0.97, 0.91 to 1.03) or urgent revascularization (PM HR 1.04, 0.99-1.08). These findings were independent of clinical presentation, previous lesion treatment, and graft segment (P interaction, ns). Conclusions: In this large SVG PCI cohort, all-cause mortality was lower among those receiving DES, and no difference in MI or urgent revascularization was observed to 3 years. (C) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.