Coronary drug-eluting stents in diabetic patients

In diabetic patients, the use of drug-eluting stents (paclitaxel-PES or sirolimus-SES) reduces the risk of restenosis as compared to bare-metal stents. However, the risk of (very) late thrombosis is higher with drug-eluting stents than with bare-metal stents. All together, the incidence of major cardiovascular events is reduced with drug-eluting stents, mainly resulting from a diminution of revascularisation procedures rather than from a reduction in myocardial infarcts or cardiovascular deaths. Attempts to compare SES and PES gave discordant results in both randomised trials and registries. Efficacious antiplatelet therapy in the long run is mandatory in all diabetic patients treated with drug-eluting stents