Piccolo R, et al. - Through a patient data meta-analysis of 26,616 patients in 20 randomized trials, researchers compared the outcomes after implantation of new-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) vs bare-metal stents (BMS) in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. In comparison to BMS, the risk of the primary outcome (composite of cardiac death or myocardial infarction) was lower in DES recipients due to a lower risk of myocardial infarction and a possible trivial (but non-significant) cardiac mortality benefit. However, all-cause death was not impacted; a reduced risk for definite stent thrombosis and target vessel revascularization was noted. Up to 1 year after placement, a time-dependent treatment effect with DES being connected to a reduced risk of the primary outcome was noted vs BMS. No further divergence from BMS after 1 year was noted, though the impact was sustained in the longer term. In the first year following implantation, the performance of new-generation DES showed that BMS should no longer be held as the gold standard for safety.