Drug eluting stents are safe for licensed indications, FDA panel says

Drug eluting stents (DES) are safe when used within their licensed indications, a panel of the US Food and Drug Administration advised at a special meeting last week. But the possibility that stents may be associated with increased risk of death and myocardial infarction caused by late stent thrombosis when used off label should be investigated further, it says.

The panel suggested that the increased risk may be related to use of antiplatelet therapy for too short a time in higher risk patients and …