Abstract
Objectives. Comparison of survival after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients with coronary disease. Design. Feiring Heart Clinic treated 10 815 patients with a coronary intervention (6366 PCI, 4449 CABG) from March 1999 to December 31, 2005. Their survival status as of May 31, 2006 was ascertained through the Norwegian National Registry. Survival in PCI and CABG cohorts was compared using Cox regression and propensity analysis. Results. Covariate adjusted survival was significantly improved by CABG compared to PCI in patients with three vessel disease with and without diabetes, with hazard ratios of 0.40 and 0.61, respectively. The difference was of borderline significance in patients with one/two vessel disease with diabetes, and no difference in survival between the strategies in patients with one/two vessel disease without diabetes. Propensity analysis supported these observations. Improved survival for the PCI cohort was observed in the last quintile of procedure times. Conclusions. Patients with three vessel disease with or without diabetes seem to have a survival benefit with CABG compared to PCI treatment.