Drug-eluting stent use in patients with increased risk

DES are constantly being refined to improve safety (as compared to first-generation DES) while maintaining high efficacy in preventing the occurrence of in-stent restenosis and reducing the need for repeat revascularization. After the approval of the first DES for clinical use, these devices were initially implanted in low-risk patients who did not reflect routine clinical practice, in which the majority of patients were complex and underwent PCI for at least one off-label indication. Complex patients were characterized by a higher clinical event risk and more challenging lesion anatomies. Only limited data were available on the clinical outcome of complex patients whore were treated with new devices. This thesis provides insight into the performance of several types of DES in complex patients undergoing PCI.