Background: Drug-eluting stents (DES) represent a major advance in the management of ischemic heart disease, but the extrapolation of favorable results from clinical trials to the real-world practice has been criticized.
Objective: To assess the use of DES in Brazil between 2000 and 2005.
Methods: Using the database of the National Registry of Cardiovascular Interventions (CENIC - Central Nacional de Intervenções Cardiovasculares) of the Brazilian Society of Hemodynamics and Interventional Cardiology (SBHCI - Sociedade Brasileira de Hemodinâmica e Cardiologia Intervencionista), all PCI procedures with DES implantation performed between 2000 and 2005 were analyzed. The groups were divided into the following biennia: 2000-2001(A), 2002-2003 (B), and 2004-2005 (C), and patient's clinical and angiographic characteristics were compared, as well as their short-term clinical outcome. Statistical analyses were performed using the chi-square test or ANOVA, and p values of less than 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant.
Results: A total of 154,406 PCI procedures were studied, and DES was used in 10,426 (7%) interventions. A progressive and statistically significant increase was found in the use of DES during the period studied: 0.14% from 2000 to 2001, 5% from 2002 to 2003, and 14% from 2004 to 2005 (p < 0.0001). After 2001, there was an increase in success rates (96.58% in 2000-2001 (A), 99.69% in 2002-2003 (B), and 99.56% in 2004-2005 (C), A x B with p < 0.001; B x C with p = 0.015) and a decrease in hospital mortality rates (1.59% in group A, 0.38% in group B, and 0.66% in group C, with p = 0.59 for A x B and p < 0.0001 for B x C).
Conclusion: In Brazil, the use of drug-eluting stents increased significantly during recent years, resulting in higher success rates and lower hospital mortality.