Follow-up (6–9 months) 3D-IVUS was performed in 840 coronary lesions treated with a single DES of the following types: sirolimus (SES, n = 148), paclitaxel (PES, n = 162), Endeavor zotarolimus (E-ZES, n = 233), Resolute zotarolimus (R-ZES, n = 147), and everolimus (EES, n = 150). Volume index (volume/length, mm3/mm) was obtained for vessel, lumen, plaque, stent, and neointima. In each lesion, exposed dose intensity was calculated as known loading dose divided by measured luminal surface area of the stented segment. Lesions were divided into tertiles based on the exposed dose intensity: high, medium, and low dose groups.
The exposed dose intensity ranged 0.74–1.76 μg/mm2 for SES, 0.41–1.18 μg/mm2 for PES, 0.71–1.57 μg/mm2 for E-ZES, 0.72–1.63 μg/mm2 for R-ZES, and 0.40–0.99 μg/mm2 for EES. All types of DES showed no significant difference in neointimal hyperplasia among the 3 groups, except that E-ZES showed significantly less neointimal hyperplasia in the high dose group.
Detailed 3D-IVUS revealed significant lesion-to-lesion variability in dose intensity exposed to the vessel wall following DES implantation. However, the major types of DES appear to yield equally effective neointimal suppression, despite the varying dose intensity, except for E-ZES.