Stent thrombosis with everolimus-eluting stents: meta-analysis of comparative randomized controlled trials.

Some but not all studies have reported reduced rates of stent thrombosis (ST) with everolimus-eluting stents (EES) compared with other drug-eluting stents (DES). All of these studies were insufficiently powered to reliably detect differences in ST. We therefore performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials comparing the risk of 2-year definite ST between EES and other DES.Randomized controlled trials comparing EES versus other DES were searched through MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane databases, and proceedings of international meetings. Information on study design, inclusion and exclusion criteria, sample characteristics, and clinical outcomes was extracted. Eleven randomized controlled trials (16 775 patients) were analyzed, including 5 trials (n=7113) of EES versus paclitaxel-eluting stents, 5 trials (n=7370) of EES versus sirolimus-eluting stents, and 1 trial (n=2292) of EES versus zotarolimus-eluting stents. By 2 years definite ST with EES compared with pooled DES occurred in 0.5\% versus 1.3\% patients, respectively (relative risk, 0.38; 95\% CI, 0.24-0.59; P<0.0001). Similar results were observed when the broader definition of definite/probable ST was considered (relative risk, 0.46; 95\% CI, 0.33-0.66; P