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Background: Drug-eluting stents (DES) are the major treatment option in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Recently, drug-coated balloon (DCB) utilization has been increasing globally, leading to the expected new strategy of "stent-less PCI." This study aimed to evaluate the one-year outcome of DCB compared to DES. Methods: Patients who underwent initial PCI for de novo lesions in our institution from January 2018 to December 2021 (n=337) were subjected to retrospective analysis. Among them, 75 patients were treated with DCB, while 262 patients were treated with DES. Target lesion failure (TLF) was evaluated during the follow-up period. Results: The proportion of PCIs for ACS was significantly lower in the DCB group (DCB, n=23, 30.7% vs. DES, n=143, 54.6%; p=0.001). The median device diameter and length in the DES group were larger than those in the DCB group (DCB, 2.60 mm vs. DES, 2.98 mm; p<0.001; DCB, 19.1 mm vs. DES, 25.2 mm; p<0.001). There was no significant difference between the DCB and DES groups in lesion calcification. The proportion of ostial lesions was significantly higher in the DCB group (DCB, n=13, 17.3% vs. DES, n=21, 8.0%; p=0.018). The cumulative rate of TLF (DCB, n=5, 6.7% vs. DES, n=18, 6.9%; p=0.951) did not significantly differ between the DCB and DES groups. Conclusion: DCB may be as effective a strategy as DES in the patient who underwent initial PCI for a de novo lesion.
Goto et al. (Sun,) studied this question.