Purpose: To evaluate clinical characteristics, treatment and outcomes of patients suffering from recurrent bare metal stent thrombosis (RST).
Methods: A retrospective evaluation of patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with bare metal stent implantation between January 2002 and December 2007 was performed. Patients who experienced more than one in stent thrombotic episode were identified and procedural and clinical outcomes were investigated.
Results: Eight thousand eight hundred sixteen patients underwent PCI with bare metal stent implantation during the study period. Ninety five patients (1.1%) underwent PCI due to stent thrombosis and 6 (6.3%) of them [mean age 69 ± 14 years (range 43-83 years)] underwent a second procedure due to RST. Emergency PCI was performed in all patients, with a favourable angiographic outcome in 4 (67%) of them. The procedure was complicated by death in 1, major ischemic stroke in 1 and acute coronary by pass grafting in 1 patient. The ejection fraction before the initial intervention and after the second thrombotic episode declined from 52 ± 14% to 33 ± 15% (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Recurrent stent thrombosis is a rare, but major complication following stent implantation, which dramatically affects patients' outcomes.