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The EXCEL trial

Monday, December 5, 2016

Submitted by

Stuart Head

Source

Source Name: N Engl J Med

Source URL: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1610227

Author(s)

Stone GW, Sabik JF, Serruys PW, Simonton CA, Généreux P, Puskas J, Kandzari DE, Morice MC, Lembo N, Brown WM 3rd, Taggart DP, Banning A, Merkely B, Horkay F, Boonstra PW, van Boven AJ, Ungi I, Bogáts G, Mansour S, Noiseux N, Sabaté M, Pomar J, Hickey M, Gershlick A, Buszman P, Bochenek A, Schampaert E, Pagé P, Dressler O, Kosmidou I, Mehran R, Pocock SJ, Kappetein AP; EXCEL Trial Investigators.

In the largest randomized trial on PCI versus CABG in patients with left main disease (n=1905) and with an inclusion criteria of a SYNTAX score >33, PCI with everolimus-eluting stents was non-inferior to CABG for the composite endpoint of death, stroke, and myocardial infarction at a trial of 3-year follow-up (15.4% versus 14.7%, respectively). However, landmark analysis showed a significant increase in endpoints beyond 30-day follow-up with PCI (HR 1.44, 95% CI 1.06-1.96). Longer follow-up results from the EXCEL trial are required to determine whether PCI is really non-inferior in terms of long-term outcomes.