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(Circulation. 2003;108:e9008.)
© 2003 American Heart Association, Inc.

Cardiovascular News

Ruth SoRelle, MPH

Circulation Newswriter

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

Paclitaxel-Eluting Stents Come out Winners Again

Paclitaxel-eluting stents in both a slow-release and moderate-release formulation reduced in-stent neointimal formation and restenosis and improved the 12-month outcomes of subjects with single, newly diagnosed lesions, when compared to those with similar lesions who received bare-metal stents, according to a report that went online in Circulation this week ( Circulation. 2003;108:r36–r42[CrossRef]). This report of TAXUS II was led by Antonio Colombo, MD, of Ospedale San Raffaele in Milan, Italy.

Investigators from 38 medical centers enrolled 536 patients in a randomized, double-blind trial that evaluated the slow-release and moderate-release paclitaxel-eluting stents (TAXUS) against bare-metal stents. The primary end point was the percent in-stent volume obstruction measured by intravascular ultrasound. The trial also evaluated 6-month angiographically proven stenosis and the 6- and 12-month incidence of major cardiac events, including death from heart-related causes, myocardial infarction, and the performance of repeat revascularization.

After 6 months, the researchers found significantly less in-stent obstruction in the patients with the TAXUS stents than in the bare-stented controls. They also found less angiographically proven restenosis in the TAXUS stent groups. The incidence of major adverse heart-related events was much less in both TAXUS groups than in the controls. For the most part, the difference occurred because the TAXUS stent groups required fewer repeat revascularizations.

The researchers wrote: "TAXUS II suggests that TAXUS-SR is the minimum effective paclitaxel formulation for standard-risk, de novo lesions. The slow- and moderate-release formulations studied in TAXUS II are loaded with the same dose density of paclitaxel (85 g . . . [Full Text of this Article]