Abstract

NICE Guidance on the use of drug-eluting stents (DES) was published in July 2008 . The guidance replaces sections 1.2 1.4 of NICE technology appraisal guidance number 71 which was published in 2003 . This part-review indicates under what circumstances drug-eluting stents are recommended as a cost effective use of NHS resources in England and Wales. 1. Drug-eluting stents are recommended for use in percutaneous coronary intervention for the treatment of coronary artery disease, within their instructions for use, only if: • the target artery to be treated has less than a 3 mm calibre or the lesion is longer than 15 mm, and • the price difference between drug-eluting stents and bare-metal stents is no more than £300.