INTRODUCTION: Despite the advent of drug-eluting stents, per-cutaneous coronary interventions in saphenous vein bypass grafts remain a challenge, with a high incidence of early complications and uncertainty regarding late outcomes. This study was aimed at evaluating clinical outcomes of patients with saphenous vein graft lesions treated with drug-eluting stents. METHOD: From May 2002 to January 2009, a total of 151 patients with 196 saphenous vein graft lesions were consecutively submitted to percutaneous coronary intervention with 211 drug-eluting stents and included in this trial. Patients were pretreated with enoxiparin, clopidogrel and acetylsalicylic acid for 3 to 5 days prior to percutaneous coronary intervention. Dual antiplatelet therapy (acetylsalicylic acid + clopidogrel) was prescribed for 12 months. The objective was to determine the rate of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) during hospitalization and in the long-term. Clinical follow-up was obtained at 1, 6 and 12 months and then, yearly after that. RESULTS: Mean age was 68.2 years, with a prevalence of male patients (89.1%). Diabetes mellitus was observed in 30.7% cases and mean age of venous grafts was 10.4 years. Angiographic success was obtained in 98.2% of the cases. During hospitalization, MACE rate was 8.7%, especially due to post-procedural enzyme increase (7.1%). In the first follow-up year, the rate of MACE increased to 14.2%, with a 3.9% rate of target-lesion revascularizations. In the late follow-up (mean of 2.6 years), the rate of MACE increased to 28.5%, with 6.0% of cardiac deaths and 16.6% of acute myocardial infarctions. Five cases of thrombosis (all of them definitive) were observed in this population. CONCLUSION: In the present subanalysis of the DESIRE Registry, the use of optimized antithrombotic therapy (acetylsalicylic acid + thienopyridines + low molecular weight heparin, for 3 to 5 days before the intervention) and the use of drug-eluting stents for the treatment of saphenous vein grafts is correlated to excellent early clinical outcomes and in the first year after percutaneous intervention. However, after the first year, these results significantly deteriorate, indicating the more aggressive character of vascular disease in the venous conduits. Thrombosis rates may be considered low, favoring the safety of these devices in such complex scenario.
Angioplasty, transluminal, percutaneous coronary; Drug-eluting stents; Saphenous vein
