What have we learned from meta-analysis of 1-year outcomes with the Absorb bioresorbable scaffold in patients with coronary artery disease?

This chapter summarizes several meta-analyses and single patient-level meta-analysis. For treatment of simple and moderately complex lesions in patients with stable coronary artery disease and stabilized ACS, the bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVSs), compared to the cobalt-chromium everolimus-eluting stent (CoCr-EESs). The chapter shows the noninferiority of the BVSs compared with the CoCr-EESs for one-year clinical and angiographic outcomes, since improved results with the BVSs compared with drug-eluting stents are not expected to become evident until three to five years after implantation. However, none of these trials were powered to exclude small differences in composite adverse event rates between devices, or to detect differences in rarely occurring safety endpoints, and their outcomes according to specific patient and lesion characteristics. Target vessel myocardial infarction was significantly increased in the BVSs arm compared to the CoCr-EESs arm, this endpoint was reported in the meta-analysis.