Drug-eluting-stents for Unprotected Left Main Stem Disease (ISAR-LEFT-MAIN)

With the advent of coronary stents and improvements in periprocedural antithrombotic regimen, the spectrum of indications of percutaneous coronary interventions has continuously expanded for patients with coronary heart disease, gaining ground in what have been traditionally considered as domains of coronary bypass surgery. Several groups reported the outcomes of patients with unprotected left main coronary artery (LMCA) disease treated with stenting. Most of them found that LMCA stenting was feasible and safe, and, in low-risk patients, it was associated with minimal periprocedural complications and low long-term morbidity and mortality. Despite these encouraging reports, a widespread use of this technique has been hampered by the still high incidence of restenosis. It is commonly accepted that coronary bypass graft surgery and stenting for unprotected LMCA disease are associated with similar rates of mortality, and that the higher incidence of restenosis and greater need for revascularization procedures after LMCA stenting remain the major contributors for the observed difference in clinical efficacy between both therapies. The recent introduction of stents eluting anti-restenotic drugs, with sirolimus and paclitaxel the most studied compounds, has opened new perspectives for the prevention of restenosis. Several randomized trials have reported excellent results in the reduction of restenosis and need for reinterventions with drug-eluting stents (DES). Although, none of these trials studied the benefit of DES for lesions located in the LMCA, their results suggested that use of these new devices may be particularly helpful for the reduction of restenosis in the group of patients with left main trunk disease. This is supported by the findings of several series of patients with unprotected LMCA disease who have been successfully treated with DES. Importantly, for patients who are unable to undergo CABG due to cardiac surgeons' refusal (poor surgical candidates) or their own unwillingness, stenting with DES remains the only revascularization alternative. Recent guidelines of PCI recommend stenting, preferentially with DES, for unprotected LMCA in the absence of other revascularization options.

Comparison:

Sirolimus-eluting stents compared with paclitaxel-eluting stent for treatment of lesions allocated at left main trunk.