Objectives: We sought to evaluate the impact of cilostazol on neointimal hyperplasia after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM).
Background: Although cilostazol has reduced the extent of neointimal hyperplasia and restenosis in patients after bare-metal stent implantation, it is not known whether this effect occurs after DES implantation in diabetic patients.
Methods: This randomized, multicenter, prospective study compared triple antiplatelet therapy (aspirin, clopidogrel, and cilostazol, triple group, n = 200) and dual antiplatelet therapy (aspirin and clopidogrel, standard group, n = 200) for 6 months in patients with DM receiving DES. The primary end point was in-stent late loss at 6 months.
Results: The 2 groups had similar baseline clinical and angiographic characteristics. The in-stent (0.25 +/- 0.53 mm vs. 0.38 +/- 0.54 mm, p = 0.025) and in-segment (0.42 +/- 0.50 mm vs. 0.53 +/- 0.49 mm, p = 0.031) late loss were significantly lower in the triple versus standard group, as were 6-month in-segment restenosis (8.0% vs. 15.6%, p = 0.033) and 9-month target lesion revascularization (TLR) (2.5% vs. 7.0%, p = 0.034). At 9 months, major adverse cardiac events, including death, myocardial infarction, and TLR, tended to be lower in the triple than in the standard group (3.0% vs. 7.0%, p = 0.066). Multivariate analysis showed that sirolimus-eluting stents and the use of cilostazol were strong predictors of reduced restenosis or TLR.
Conclusions: Triple antiplatelet therapy after DES implantation decreased angiographic restenosis and extent of late loss, resulting in a reduced risk of 9-month TLR compared with dual antiplatelet therapy in diabetic patients.