Comparison of very early-phase vascular response to the CD34 antibody‑covered sirolimus‑eluting stent versus durable polymer-coated everolimus-eluting stent.

The COMBO stent is a unique biodegradable polymer sirolimus-eluting stent with an anti-CD34 antibody coating that captures endothelial progenitor cells and potentially promotes vessel healing. There are limited data regarding strut tissue coverage at the very short-term period after COMBO stent implantation compared to other types of drug-eluting stents in the same patient. This prospective study enrolled patients who had COMBO Plus stent and durable polymer-coated everolimus-eluting stent (XIENCE stent) implanted simultaneously in the same vessel for long coronary lesions. Strut tissue coverage within 1 month after implantation was compared using optical coherence tomography. Struts fully covered with tissue were defined as covered, and healthy tissue coverage was defined as tissue thickness with ≥ 40 μm. A total of 21 patients, 11 (52%) of whom presented with acute coronary syndrome, were enrolled. A total of 4798 struts from 21 COMBO Plus stents and 4608 struts from 21 XIENCE stents were analyzed at an average of 19.8 ± 6.5 days after implantation. In the lesion-level analysis, covered struts were more frequently observed (83.7 ± 7.4% vs. 76.9 ± 11.0%, P < 0.01), and the rate of healthy tissue coverage tended to be higher (49.9 ± 17.7% vs. 42.1 ± 20.5%, P = 0.07) in the COMBO Plus stent compared to the XIENCE stent. Strut tissue coverage was more advanced in the COMBO Plus stent compared to the XIENCE stent at the very short-term period after implantation.