Biolimus-eluting stent for de-novo coronary artery disease in patients with diabetes mellitus: The BESTFRIENDS multicentre registry

Aims Coronary inflammation and healing influence outcomes of diabetic patients treated with Percutaneous coronary revascularization (PCI). Stents covered with biodegradable polymers (bp) may offer advantages over nonerodible polymer ones, because polymer reabsorption extinguish coronary inflammation and favours healing. Aim of our study was to assess the safety and efficacy of bp-biolimus-eluting stent (bp-BES) in a large series of consecutive diabetic patients. Methods From 2009 to 2013 we retrospectively enrolled consecutive diabetic patients treated with PCI and bp-BES implantation. Primary end points were target lesion revascularization (TLR) and stent thrombosis rates. Results Study cohort counted 747 patients. Multivessel disease was present in 48.2% with a mean stent/patient ratio of 1.860.78. During the hospital stay no stent thrombosis occurred. At 3-year follow-up we observed a 1.5% cumulative incidence of cardiac death, 1.1% of myocardial infarction and 6.3% of TLR. Stent thrombosis occurred in 1.1% of patients, all in the first 2 years of followup. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a TLR-free survival at 1 and 3 years of 97.2 and 96.1%, respectively. Conclusion PCI with bp-BES seems to be well tolerated and effective in a large unselected population of diabetic patients. The good results observed were maintained at 3 years of follow-up.