The Question of Drug-Eluting Stent Safety: Then and Now

A well-publicized presentation at the 2006 meeting of the World Congress of Cardiology (WCC) raised questions about the safety of drug-eluting stents (DES), leading to a rapid change in clinical practices for patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions. Subsequent independent analyses, which included patient-level data, found that DES, despite a small risk of very late stent thrombosis, are as safe as bare-metal stents and substantially reduce the risk of repeat revascularization. This article presents possible reasons for the differences between the conclusions of the 2006 WCC presentation and those of subsequent studies, and presents data that have emerged since the WCC 2006 meeting regarding the safety of DES.