Comparison Of Drug-Coated Balloon Versus Drug-Eluting Stent In STEMI Patients With High Thrombus Burden: A Single-Center Retrospective Study Using Propensity Score Matching
This is a single-center, retrospective, propensity-score-matched observational study. It aims to compare the rate of immediate slow-flow or no-reflow after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) between drug-coated balloon (DCB) and drug-eluting stent (DES) in STEMI patients with high thrombus burden. Medical records of eligible patients admitted between January 1, 2019 and June 30, 2025 will be reviewed. Propensity-score matching will be used to balance baseline characteristics of the two groups. Both procedural-related outcomes and 1-year clinical follow-up events will be analyzed.
• Patients diagnosed with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing emergency percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) at this center:
‣ Symptom onset ≤ 12 hours; OR
⁃ Symptom onset \> 12 hours with persistent ischemic symptoms.
• Angiographic thrombus grade of the culprit vessel is G2-G4.
• Reference vessel diameter of the culprit vessel: 2.25-4.0 mm.
• Complete pre-procedural and post-procedural coronary angiographic imaging data are available.
• Age ≥ 18 years old.