Diabetes mellitus (DM) and small vessel (SV) disease are two major predictors of adverse outcome in patients treated by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), even when last generation metallic drug-eluting stents (DES) are used. Bioresorbable scaffold (BRS) technology has been recently developed to overcome the disadvantages of metallic DES due to their permanent struts. Through the resorption process, BRS may provide a vascular restoration that appears very attractive especially when distal or diffusely diseased coronary segments are involved, as in diabetic patients and SV disease. However, robust evidence on the use of BRS in diabetics is lacking, and recent data have raised concerns on the use of BRS in SVs, particularly when reference vessel diameter (RVD) is <2.25 mm. This review aims at summarizing current evidence related to the use of BRS in diabetics and SV disease.
Keywords: Bioresorbable scaffolds (BRSs); coronary artery disease (CAD); diabetes; percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs); small vessel (SV).