The use of drug-eluting stents in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), particularly those with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), is controversial owing to concerns about late adverse events. We evaluated the long-term safety of sirolimus-eluting stent implantation in patients with ACS. Of 10,778 patients treated exclusively with a sirolimus-eluting stent in the j-Cypher registry, the 3-year outcomes of 2,308 patients with ACS (953 patients with AMI) were compared to those of 8,470 patients without ACS. Compared to patients without ACS, the patients with ACS had a significantly greater adjusted risk of death or myocardial infarction (hazard ratio [HR] 1.24, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.12 to 1.37, p <0.0001) and definite or probable stent thrombosis (HR 1.43, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.82, p = 0.006) within the first year after sirolimus-eluting stent implantation. However, after 1 year, patients with ACS no longer had a greater risk of death or myocardial infarction (HR 1.01, 95% CI 0.90 to 1.13, p = 0.87) and stent thrombosis (HR 1.32, 95% CI 0.92 to 1.86, p = 0.13). Of the patients with ACS, those with AMI had a greater risk of death or myocardial infarction (HR 1.33, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.6, p = 0.001) and stent thrombosis (HR 1.57, 95% CI 1.05 to 2.39, p = 0.03) than those with unstable angina pectoris within the first year. However, they had a similar risk of death or myocardial infarction (HR 1.00, 95% CI 0.78 to 1.22, p = 0.83) and stent thrombosis (HR 0.83, 95% CI 0.38 to 1.6, p = 0.59) after 1 year. The risk of late adverse events >1 year after sirolimus-eluting stent implantation was similar between those with and without ACS and between those with AMI and those with unstable angina pectoris.
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