Morel, Marie‐Angèle

Abstract Aims The aim of this article was to compare rates of all-cause death at 10 years following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with or without diabetes. Methods and results The SYNTAXES study evaluated up to 10-year survival of 1800 patients with three-vessel disease (3VD) and/or left main coronary artery disease (LMCAD) randomized to receive either PCI or CABG in the SYNTAX trial. Ten-year all-cause death according to diabetic status and revascularization strategy was examined. In diabetics (n = 452), the risk of mortality was numerically higher with PCI compared with CABG at 5 years [19.6% vs. 13.3%, hazard ratio (HR): 1.53, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.96, 2.43, P = 0.075], with the opposite seen between 5 and 10 years (PCI vs. CABG: 20.8% vs. 24.4%, HR: 0.82, 95% CI: 0.52, 1.27, P = 0.366). Irrespective of diabetic status, there was no significant difference in all-cause death at 10 years between patients receiving PCI or CABG, the absolute treatment difference was 1.9% in diabetics (PCI vs. CABG: 36.4% vs. 34.5%, difference: 1.9%, 95% CI: −7.6%, 11.1%, P = 0.551). Among insulin-treated patients (n = 182), all-cause death at 10 years was numerically higher with PCI (47.9% vs. 39.6%, difference: 8.2%, 95% CI: −6.5%, 22.5%, P = 0.227). Conclusions The treatment effects of PCI vs. CABG on all-cause death at 10 years in patients with 3VD and/or LMCAD were similar irrespective of the presence of diabetes. There may, however, be a survival benefit with CABG in patients with insulin-treated diabetes. The association between revascularization strategy and very long-term ischaemic and safety outcomes for patients with diabetes needs further investigation in dedicated trials. Trial registration SYNTAX: ClinicalTrials.gov reference: NCT00114972 and SYNTAX Extended Survival: ClinicalTrials.gov reference: NCT03417050.

ObjectivesTo investigate the prognostic implications of the presence of severe lesion calcification in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) operation.BackgroundThere is robust evidence that lesion calcification is a predictor of worse prognosis in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention; however, there is limited data about the prognostic implication of lesion calcium in patients treated with CABG.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed data from 1,545 patients who underwent CABG and were recruited in the SYNTAX study and CABG registry. Two experts reviewed the angiographic data and classified patients in two groups: those with severely calcified coronary arteries and those without severe lesion calcification. Clinical outcomes at 5‐year follow‐up were collected and compared in the two groups.ResultsOne out of three patients exhibited severe lesion calcification (n = 588). Patients with calcified coronaries had an increased mortality at 5‐year follow‐up (17.1% vs. 9.9%, P < 0.001) and a higher event rate of death‐myocardial infarction (MI) compared with those without (19.4% vs. 13.2%, P = 0.003), but there was no statistical significant difference between the two groups for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE, 26.8% vs. 21.8%, P = 0.057). In multivariate Cox regression analysis severe lesion calcification was an independent predictor of an increased all‐cause mortality (hazard ratio: 1.39, 95% confidence interval: 1.02–1.89; P = 0.037) but it was not an independent predictor of the combined end‐points death‐MI or MACE.ConclusionsSevere lesion calcification is associated with an increased mortality in patients undergoing CABG, but it is not an independent predictor of death‐MI or MACE. This paradox can be attributed to the fact that CABG allows perfusion of the healthy coronaries bypassing the diseased arteries and thus it minimizes the risk of coronary events due to progressive atherosclerosis. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.