Initial coronary stent implantation with medical therapy vs medical therapy alone for stable coronary artery disease: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Prior meta-analyses have yielded conflicting results regarding the outcomes of treatment of stable coronary artery disease (CAD) with initial percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) vs medical therapy. However, most of the studies in prior systematic reviews used balloon angioplasty as well as medical therapies that do not reflect current interventional or medical practices. We therefore performed a meta-analysis of all randomized clinical trials comparing initial coronary stent implantation with medical therapy to determine the effect on death, nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI), unplanned revascularization, and persistent angina.