Long-term clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention for ostial/mid-shaft lesions versus distal bifurcation lesions in unprotected left main coronary artery: the DELTA Registry (drug-eluting stent for left main coronary artery disease): a multicenter registry evaluating percutaneous coronary intervention versus coronary artery bypass grafting for left main treatment.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare, in a large all-comer registry, the long-term clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stents (DES) for ostial/mid-shaft lesions versus distal bifurcation lesions in unprotected left main coronary artery (ULMCA) stenosis.

Background: Limited data are available regarding clinical outcomes following DES implantation at the different ULMCA sites.

Methods: Patients with ULMCA stenosis treated by PCI with DES were analyzed in this multinational registry.

Results: A total of 1,612 patients were included: 482 were treated for ostial/mid-shaft lesions versus 1,130 for distal bifurcation lesions. At a median follow-up period of 1,250 (interquartile range: 987 to 1,564) days, PCI for distal bifurcation lesions was associated with a higher incidence of major adverse cardiac events (propensity-score adjusted hazard ratio [HR]: 1.48, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.16 to 1.89; p = 0.001), largely because of the higher target vessel revascularization rate observed in this group as compared to the ostial/mid-shaft lesions group (propensity-score adjusted HR: 1.68, 95% CI: 1.19 to 2.38; p = 0.003). These results were sustained following propensity-score matched analysis. With regard to all-cause death and the composite endpoint of all-cause death and myocardial infarction, propensity-score adjusted analysis suggested a trend toward higher rates of these in the distal ULMCA PCI group, although this was not observed in the propensity-score matched analysis.

Conclusions: This study demonstrates that PCI for ostial/mid-shaft lesions is associated with better clinical outcomes than are distal bifurcation lesions in ULMCA, largely because there is a lower need for repeat revascularization in ostial/mid-shaft lesions.