Comparison of BIOdegradable Polymer and DuRablE Polymer Drug-eluting Stents in an All COmeRs PopulaTion: Randomized Multicenter Trial in an All Comers Population Treated Within thE NeThErlands 3 (TWENTE 3)

The introduction of drug-eluting stents (DES) in the treatment of coronary artery disease has led to a significant reduction in morbidity. However, the first generation of these devices had no positive impact on the mortality after PCI (compared to bare metal stents), which was greatly attributed to a somewhat increased incidence of late and very late stent thrombosis. Concerns about the role of durable polymers as a potential trigger of inflammation and finally adverse events also led to the development of DES with biodegradable coatings, which leave after degradation of the coating only a bare metal stent in the vessel wall that does not induce an inflammatory response. While such biodegradable polymer DES are increasingly used in clinical practice, there is no data available from head-to-head comparisons between biodegradable and contemporary third generation durable polymer DES.