In an observational registry study, we identified 3787 patients with multivessel coronary disease. Of these 696 (18.3%) underwent PCI with EES and 3091 (81.7%) CABG with MAG. With the use of propensity-score matching, we identified 483 pairs for final comparison (C-statistic: 0.91).
The two groups were comparable for 30-day mortality (1.6% versus 0.8% in the EES and MAG group respectively, P = 0.38). Stroke was not observed in the EES group and it was 0.8% in the MAG group (P = 0.13). After a mean follow-up of 3.1 years, PCI with EES was associated with a higher risk of late death (HR 2.2; 95% CI 1.18–4.16; P = 0.01).
In patients with multivessel coronary disease, CABG with multiple arterial grafts when compared with PCI with new generation drug eluting stent, was associated with significantly improved long-term survival. Further randomized studies are warranted to identify the best revascularization strategies in the current era.