Drug-Eluting Balloon, Bare Metal Stent Combo Disappoints in STEMI

In the subset of patients who underwent OCT, the combination was marginally superior to bare metal stents alone in terms of mean neointimal area (4.14 vs. 2.86 mm², P = .05). But there was also a trend toward a higher percentage of stent struts showing malapposition (1.74% vs. 0.56%, P = .06). Drug-eluting stents were significantly superior to the combination in terms of maximum neointimal area, mean neointimal area, and the percentage of covered embedded stents.

Acetylcholine testing did not show any significant differences in coronary vasodilation between the combination and the bare metal stents alone. But vasodilation was significantly better for the combination than for drug-eluting stents.

Dr. Stella reported that he is a consultant to, is a speaker for, or receives honoraria from EuroCor, and Sahajanand Medical Technologies (SMT). Dr. Granada reported that he had no relevant conflicts of interest.