Early and late clinical outcomes after saphenous vein graft treatment with MGuard TM stents vs. drug-eluting stents

Background The MGuard TM stent, which has a microscopic polymer mesh coating, is intended to reduce the distal embolization of fragments during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in saphenous vein grafts (SVG). This study evaluated the early and late clinical outcomes of patients undergoing PCI in SVG with MGuard TM stents vs. drug-eluting stents (DES). Methods Observational, retrospective study conducted at two tertiary centers, involving a cohort of patients with SVG lesions submitted to elective or emergency treatment with MGuard TM stents or DES. Results A total of 271 patients were included, of whom 220 were treated with DES. The MGuard TM group had a higher proportion of women (25.5% vs. 10.5%; p = 0.01), with a mean age of 65.0 ± 13.9 years vs. 69.0 ± 9.6 years ( p = 0.06). The DES group more frequently used distal protection filter (5.8% vs. 10.0%; p = 0.001). Angiographic success was attained in most cases (96.2% vs. 98.0%; p = 0.22). The MGuard TM group had lower rates of early major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) than the DES group (1.9% vs. 13.6%; p = 0.01), due solely to the lower incidence of periprocedural infarction. However, the MACE rate at 1 year was higher in the MGuard TM group (14.3% vs. 4.4%; p = 0.01) at the expense of a higher rate of target lesion revascularization (7.1% vs. 1.3%; p = 0.048). Conclusions The use of the MGuard TM stent resulted in a reduction of events during hospitalization; however, in the long term the DES were superior in reducing major outcomes, mainly the need for target lesion revascularization.