FRIDAY, Oct. 23, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with de novo coronary artery disease undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), drug-coated balloon (DCB) and drug-eluting stent (DES) strategies are comparable in terms of cardiovascular death and myocardial infarction, according to a review published online Oct. 15 in eClinicalMedicine.
Natasha Corballis, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., from the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom, and colleagues conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence comparing DCB with DES PCI for de novo coronary disease. Ten randomized controlled trials, with 7,832 patients, were included.
The researchers observed no significant difference between DCB and DES in terms of cardiovascular death or myocardial infarction. After excluding small-vessel-only trials, the findings remained consistent. Across all trials, no difference was seen in revascularization, but after excluding small-vessel-only trials, it was higher with DCB (odds ratio, 1.84). Substantial publication bias was not suggested on visual inspection of funnel plots.
"Our work shows that there is no meaningful difference between these two treatments when it came to the most serious outcomes," Corballis said in a statement. "Patients treated with drug-coated balloons were no more likely to die from cardiovascular causes than those receiving stents. Rates of heart attack were also virtually identical between the two groups."
Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.
