BackgroundThe PEPCAD China ISR trial investigated the safety and efficacy of paclitaxel-coated balloon (PCB) angioplasty in an Asian patient population with coronary drug-eluting stent in-stent restenosis (DES-ISR). Methods: A total of 220 patients with coronary DES-ISR were treated with PCB angioplasty or with paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES). This randomized (1:1), single-blind prospective multicenter trial in a Chinese population used 9-month in-segment late lumen loss (LLL) as the primary endpoint. Secondary endpoints included the 24-month clinical event rates. Results: Both treatment groups were similar in terms of patient, lesion, or procedural characteristics. After the 12-month follow-up evaluation, additional clinical events only occurred in the PES study group. The combined rate of all-cause mortality and myocardial infarction (MI) in the PCB group was significantly lower than that in the PES group (3.7% vs. 11.8%, P = 0.03). Additional subgroup analyses of 9-month in-segment LLL and 2-year target lesion failure in patients with diabetes, small vessels, diffuse ISR, and stent margin restenosis did not show more favorable results for one specific treatment group. Conclusions: The 2-year follow-up demonstrated sustained long-term clinical efficacy for both devices. PCB angioplasty was associated with significantly lower overall and cardiovascular mortality/MI rates in patients with DES-ISR lesions while avoiding the use of additional metal layers for drug release (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT 01622075). (c) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.