Effect of increasing age on percutaneous coronary intervention vs coronary artery bypass grafting in older adults with unprotected left main coronary artery disease: A meta-analysis and meta-regression

Background Older adults (>= 70-year-old) are under-represented in the published data pertaining to unprotected left main coronary artery disease (ULMCAD). Hypothesis: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) might be comparable to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for revascularization of ULMCAD. Methods We compared PCI versus CABG in older adults with ULMCAD with an aggregate data meta-analyses (4880 patients) of clinical outcomes [all-cause mortality, myocardial infarction (MI), repeat revascularization, stroke and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events(MACCE)] at 30 days, 12-24 months & >= 36 months in patients with mean age >= 70 years and ULMCAD. A meta-regression analysis evaluated the effect of age on mortality after PCI. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using random-effects model. Results All-cause mortality between PCI and CABG was comparable at 30-days (OR0.77, 95% CI 0.42- 1.41) and 12-24-months (OR 1.22, 95% CI 0.78-1.93). PCI was associated with a markedly lower rate of stroke at 30-day follow-up in octogenarians (OR 0.14, 95% CI 0.02-0.76) but an overall higher rate of repeat revascularization. At >= 36-months, MACCE (OR 1.26,95% CI 0.99-1.60) and all-cause mortality (OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.00-1.93) showed a trend favoring CABG but did not reach statistical significance. On meta-regression, PCI was associated with a higher mortality with advancing age (coefficient=0.1033, p=0.042). Conclusions PCI was associated with a markedly lower rate of early stroke in octogenarians as compared to CABG. All-cause mortality was comparable between the two arms with a trend favoring CABG at >= 36-months.PCI was however associated with increasing mortality with advancing age as compared to CABG.