Similar long-term outcome of dissimilar drug-eluting stents: is it time to change the assessment?

Long-term follow-up of randomised drug-eluting stent (DES) trials provides information that may be of great clinical value. While restenosis in DES generally occurs within the first two years, some safety and efficacy endpoints may only be seen at later stages. Most randomised trials that compared contemporary DES using Kaplan-Meier methods showed no significant difference in long-term outcome despite substantial between-DES differences in strut thickness, polymer type, stent design, and drug1,2,3. However, the inability to prove a difference is not the same as proof of no difference. In case of a negative trial result, in principle, there may be truly ...