Early and long-term results of unprotected left main coronary artery stenosis with paclitaxel-eluting stents: the FRIEND (French multicentre registry for stenting of unprotected LMCA stenosis) registry

AIMS: To evaluate the angiographic and clinical outcome of patients undergoing paclitaxel-eluting stent (PES) implantation for unprotected left main coronary artery (ULMCA) stenosis in a "real-world" multicentre, prospective registry. Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is an increasingly utilised method of revascularisation in patients with ULMCA. METHODS AND RESULTS: A prospective registry including all patients with a significant (>50%) ULMCA stenosis. Of 151 such patients, the target lesion involved the distal bifurcation in 100 patients (66%), which was treated predominantly by a "provisional T-stenting" strategy. In the distal ULMCA disease group, 72% had only one stent implantation while 28% had multiple (either two or three) stents implanted. At a median follow-up of 1,123±80 days, cardiac death occurred in five patients (3.3%) and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) in 32 patients (21.2%). The three-year survival rate was 93.3%. CONCLUSIONS: In the drug-eluting stent era, paclitaxel-eluting stent implantation of ULMCA stenosis provided excellent immediate and long-term results in this selected population, suggesting that this approach may be considered as a safe and effective alternative to CABG for selected patients with ULMCA who are treated in experienced institutions performing large numbers of PCI procedures.