OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to evaluate clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with coronary artery calcification (CAC).

BACKGROUND

Smaller studies have reported worse clinical outcomes in patients with CAC who undergo PCI. The impact of CAC in the drug-eluting stent era is unclear.

METHODS

Data from 7,492 patients treated by PCI with ≥1 TAXUS Express stent in the ARRIVE registry with no inclusion/exclusion criteria were stratified by the severity of CAC, as determined by the operator. Endpoints were independently adjudicated. All major adverse cardiac events were assessed at 2 years.

RESULTS

Moderate/severe CAC was present in 19.6%. The nil/mild CAC group had higher rate of current smokers. The moderate/severe CAC group was older and had a higher prevalence of hypertension, kidney disease, prior coronary artery bypass grafting, congestive heart failure, and left main disease. After adjustment for imbalanced baseline variables, patients with moderate/severe CAC had higher 2 year rates of major adverse cardiac events (18.3% vs 13.5%, p = 0.01) and death (10.3% vs 5.6%, p = 0.02).

CONCLUSIONS

Moderate/severe CAC was associated with increased clinical events in patients who underwent PCI with TAXUS stents. This may be explained in part due to differences important baseline characteristics including more patients with more comorbidities and more complex lesions. After adjustment for imbalanced baseline variables, the moderate/severe CAC group had a higher risk of major adverse cardiac events and death. Improvements in treatment strategies are needed for this high-risk group of patients who undergo PCI. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.