Optimizing the Percutaneous Interventional Outcomes for Patients With Diabetes Mellitus

Background —Stenting likely decreases the need for target-vessel revascularization procedures in diabetic patients compared with balloon angioplasty. However, the efficacy of stenting with platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa blockade has not yet been assessed in diabetics. Methods and Results —We analyzed the outcomes of 491 diabetic patients within the multicenter Evaluation of Platelet IIb/IIIa Inhibitor for Stenting Trial (EPISTENT). Diabetic patients were a prospectively defined subset: 173 were randomized to stent-placebo, 162 to stent-abciximab, and 156 to balloon angioplasty–abciximab. The main end point for this analysis was combined 6-month death, myocardial infarction (MI), or target-vessel revascularization (TVR). The composite end point occurred in 25.2% of stent-placebo, 23.4% of balloon-abciximab, and 13.0% of stent-abciximab patients ( P =0.005). Abciximab therapy, irrespective of revascularization strategy (stent or balloon angioplasty), resulted in a significant reduction in the 6-month death or MI rate: 12.7% for stent-placebo, 7.8% for balloon angioplasty–abciximab, and 6.2% for the stent-abciximab group ( P =0.029). The 6-month TVR rate was 16.6% for stent-placebo, 18.4% for balloon-abciximab, and 8.1% for stent-abciximab ( P =0.021). Compared with stent-placebo, stent-abciximab therapy was associated with a significant increase in angiographic net gain (0.88 versus 0.55 mm; P =0.011) and a decrease in the late loss index (0.40 versus 0.60 mm; P =0.061). The 1-year mortality rate for diabetics was 4.1% for stent-placebo and 1.2% for stent-abciximab patients ( P =0.11). Conclusions —The combination of stenting and abciximab therapy among diabetics resulted in a significant reduction in 6-month rates of death, MI, and TVR compared with stent-placebo or balloon-abciximab therapy.