Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41835996›Full record

ArticleAsiaIntervention2026

Head-to-head comparison of limus- versus paclitaxel-coated balloons in the treatment of in-stent restenosis: a meta-analysis.

Marios Sagris, Stergios Soulaidopoulos, Nikolaos Ktenopoulos, Angelos Papanikolaou, Kyriakos Dimitriadis, Nikolaos Patsourakos, Dimitris Tousoulis, Bruno Scheller, Antonio Colombo, Konstantinos Tsioufis

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in AsiaIntervention, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Marios SagrisHippokration General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Athens, Greece.
Stergios SoulaidopoulosHippokration General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Athens, Greece.
Nikolaos KtenopoulosHippokration General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Athens, Greece.
Angelos PapanikolaouHippokration General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Athens, Greece.
Kyriakos DimitriadisHippokration General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Athens, Greece.
Nikolaos PatsourakosDepartment of Cardiology, Tzaneio General Hospital of Piraeus, Piraeus, Greece.
Dimitris TousoulisHippokration General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Athens, Greece.
Bruno SchellerClinical and Experimental Interventional Cardiology, Saarland University, Homburg, Germany.
Antonio ColomboDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele, Italy.
Konstantinos TsioufisHippokration General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Athens, Greece.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: There is a lack of robust comparative data between limus drug-coated balloons (DCBs) versus paclitaxel-coated balloons (PCBs) on their efficacy and safety in treating in-stent restenosis (ISR). Aims: The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to compare the efficacy and safety of limus DCBs versus PCBs in terms of clinical and angiographic outcomes during a 12-month follow-up. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, we systematically explored PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane databases up to 20 February 2025 for studies comparing limus DCBs versus PCBs in terms of safety, efficacy, and angiographic outcomes in treating ISR. The primary outcomes were the incidence of clinically driven target lesion revascularisation (TLR) and failure (TLF). Secondary endpoints were major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and angiographic findings during follow-up. Results: Data from six randomised controlled trials (RCTs), including a total of 639 patients treated with limus DCBs and 569 with PCBs for ISR, were analysed with a mean follow-up of 12 months. In this analysis, all six RCTs reported on TLR (limus DCB 14% vs PCB 11.4%) and TLF (limus DCB 15% vs PCB 14%) incidence, showing no significant difference between the limus DCB and PCB groups. No significant differences were observed in MACE (16.4% vs 13.5%), all-cause mortality (1.8% vs 1.4%), cardiac death (1.4% vs 1.0%) or target vessel myocardial infarction (0.9% vs 1.0%), for limus DCBs versus PCBs, respectively. Angiographic outcomes showed no significant differences in post-intervention minimal lumen diameter (standardised mean difference [SMD] +0.06, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.07 to 0.18; I Conclusions: Our findings suggest that limus DCBs are equally as effective and safe as PCBs for treating ISR, demonstrating non-inferiority in both clinical and angiographic outcomes at 12 months post-intervention.

Identifiers

PMID41835996
PMCPMC12987392

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.