Immediate Small Side Branch Occlusion after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Small side branches, albeit less important than their larger counterparts, have not yet received due attention in the literature. Nor has there ever been a comparison between drug-eluting stents and bare metal stents apropos side branch occlusion. The aim of this study was to compare the patency of small (≥0.5 and ≤1.5 mm in diameter) side branches with respect to bare metal vs. drug-eluting stents immediately after their deployment. This prospective bi-center study, conducted between June 2005 and January 2007, enrolled 82 patients treated with ≥1 of two stents (TAXUSTM LiberteTM or LiberteTM). Side branches ≥0.5 and <1.5 mm in diameter arising from the main vessel at the lesion site were evaluated. Thirty-eight patients were treated with 42 LiberteTM stents (58 side branches) and forty-four patients with 50 TAXUSTM LiberteTM (102 side branches). The rate of small side branch occlusion was 35.3% (36) in the TAXUSTM LiberteTM group compared to 29.31% (15) in the LiberteTM group (P-value= 0.7). The presence of type 1 side branch morphology (Lefevre classification) was the most powerful predictor of small side branch occlusion (P-value=0.03). This study shows that drug-eluting stents are not inferior to bare metal stents as regards small side branch occlusion during coronary stenting.