Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that were head-to-head comparisons of sirolimus-eluting stents with paclitaxel-eluting stents in patients with diabetes mellitus were eligible for inclusion.
The primary outcome was target lesion revascularisation (defined as any revascularization procedure, percutaneous or surgical, involving the target lesion). Secondary outcomes were cardiac death, myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis, and the angiographic outcome of binary restenosis (50% or more).
All the included trials were multi-centred, conducted in Europe or Korea. All the participants had diabetes and coronary artery disease. The mean age of participants ranged from 61 to 68 years (where reported), the proportion of females ranged from 16 to 45%, and the proportion with insulin-dependent diabetes ranged from 13 to 41% (where reported). The mean length of the stent segments ranged from 19 to 33mm. The mean minimal luminal diameter ranged from 0.5 to 1.1mm. The mean stenosis diameter ranged from 59 to 81%. The mean number of stents ranged from 1.1 to 1.4.
The authors did not report how many reviewers performed study selection.