The comparative short-term efficacy and safety of drug-coated balloon vs. drug-eluting stent for treating small-vessel coronary artery lesions in diabetic patients

A 2024 scientific update on the clinical performance of drug-coated balloons

Continuous advances in the field of interventional cardiology have led to the development of drug-coated balloons (DCB). These represent a promising device for overcoming the well-known limitations of traditional metallic stents, which are associated with a persistent yearly increased risk of adverse events. This technology has the ability to homogeneously transfer the drug into the vessel wall in the absence of a permanent prosthesis implanted in the coronary vessel. Robust data support the use of DCB for the treatment of in-stent restenosis, but there is also currently growing evidence from long-term follow-up of large randomised clinical trials regarding the use of these devices in other scenarios, such as de novo small and large vessel disease, complex bifurcations, and diffuse coronary disease. Other critical clinical settings such as diabetes mellitus, high bleeding risk patients and acute coronary syndromes could be approached in the upcoming future by using DCB, alone or as part of a blended strategy in combination with drug-eluting stents. There have been important scientific and technical advances in the DCB field in recent years. The purpose of this paper is to review the most current data regarding the use of DCB, including the mid- and long-term follow-up reports on the safety and efficacy of this novel strategy in different clinical and angiographic scenarios.

Small-vessel Coronary Angioplasty – Past, Present, and Future

Small-vessel disease (SVD) is an important subset of the population with coronary artery disease which may account for up to 30–70% according to different series. The challenges of SVD interventions are first to detect the true small-vessel size along with the true length of the lesion by intravascular imaging, then to decide about the interventional strategies as there is difficulty in delivering the stent to the lesion, dissections, under expansions of the stent during percutaneous coronary intervention with increased incidence of restenosis, and need for revascularization on the long term as well. Special attention is to be paid to this subset of patients of SVD as the treatment strategies need to be improvised than simple balloon dilatation or stenting with drug-eluting stents. At present, drug-coated or eluting balloon emerging as an improvised strategy for treating these patients with intravascular imaging. This article concentrates on the latest updates in SVD treatment.