Regular Drug-Eluting Stent vs Dedicated Coronary Bifurcation BiOSS Expert Stent: Multicenter Open-Label Randomized Controlled POLBOS I Trial

Background Results of regular drug-eluting stents (rDESs) in bifurcation treatment are not optimal. The aim of the Pol ish B ifurcation O ptimal S tenting I (POLBOS I) trial was to compare bifurcation treatment with any rDES vs the dedicated bifurcation paclitaxel-eluting stent BiOSS Expert (Balton, Poland). The second aim was to study the effect of final kissing balloon (FKB) inflation on clinical outcomes. Methods Between October 2010 and January 2013 patients with stable coronary artery disease or non–ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome were assigned 1:1 to 1 of 2 treatment strategies: BiOSS Expert stent or rDES implantation. Coronary angiography was performed at 12 months. The primary end point was a composite of cardiac-related death, myocardial infarction (MI), and target lesion revascularization (TLR) at 12 months. Results The BiOSS Expert was implanted in 120 patients (49.4%), and an rDES was implanted in 123 patients. The target vessel was the left anterior descending (LAD) artery (52% vs 70%) followed by the left main stem (LMS) coronary artery (22% vs 15%). In the rDES group, 38.2% received paclitaxel-eluting stents. There were 3 stent implantation failures (2 in the rDES group and 1 in the BiOSS Expert group). Side branch treatment with an rDES was required in 10% of cases in both groups. At 12 months, the incidence of cumulative major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) was similar in both groups: 13.3% vs 12.2% ( P = 0.7). The TLR rate was significantly higher in the BiOSS Expert group compared with the rDES group (11.5% vs 7.3%; P = 0.02). Significantly lower rates of restenosis were observed in FKB subgroups of both the BiOSS Expert (8.1% vs 13.2%; P P Conclusions MACE rates were comparable between the 2 groups; however, the TLR rate was higher in the BiOSS Expert group. A more aggressive protocol yielded better angiographic and clinical outcomes.