Sirolimus-eluting stents in the treatment of chronic total coronary occlusions: results from the prospective multi-center German Cypher Stent Registry

We assessed the effectiveness and safety of the sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) in the treatment of chronic total coronary occlusions. Chronic total occlusions (CTO) of coronary vessels have an unacceptable high restenosis rate of approximately 50% after stenting. Few data exist about the performance of drug eluting stents (DES) in the treatment of CTO. All coronary interventions using the Cypher™ stent performed at 122 centers engaged in the German Cypher registry between April 2002 and December 2004 were analyzed; a total of 5,344 patients; 374 with and 4,970 without CTO were compared. There was no significant difference between both groups regarding demographics, coronary status and left ventricular function. Patients in the CTO group had a higher level of angina symptoms, the coronary lesions were more complex and the stents used were smaller and longer than in the No-CTO group. The In-hospital outcome was similar in both groups, with importantly no difference regarding mortality and complications. Stenting was as successful in the CTO as in the No-CTO group; during a follow-up of 6.6 months we found no significant difference regarding the rate of mortality, complications, and revascularization between both groups. Implantation of the Cypher™ stent reduces the restenosis rate and seems to be a safe and effective tool for the treatment of chronic total coronary occlusions.