Abstract 12812: Temporal Trends of Calcium Modification Therapies in Chronic Total Occlusion Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Abstract

Introduction: Various techniques with different mechanisms of action are presently available for the modification of coronary calcium in chronic total occlusions (CTOs). Hypothesis: We sought to examine the temporal trends in the use of calcium modification therapies in a large multicenter CTO percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) registry. Methods: We analyzed data from 13,079 CTO PCIs performed in 12,799 patients at 46 US and non-US centers between 2012 and 2023. Calcification was assessed by angiography as mild (spots), moderate (involving ≤50% of the reference lesion diameter), or severe (involving >50% of the reference lesion diameter). Results: Moderate or severe calcification was present in 6,094 CTOs (46.6%). Among CTO lesions with moderate or severe calcium, one or more calcium modification techniques was used in 1,006 cases (16.9%); rotational atherectomy (7.2%, n=434), laser atherectomy (3.4%, n=203), intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) (3.4%, n=200), scoring balloon (3.0%, n=178), cutting balloon (1.8%, n=109), orbital atherectomy (1.5%, n=91), and Chocolate balloon (Teleflex, 0.3%, n=15). Over time, the use of calcium modification techniques for lesions with moderate to severe calcification increased from 2.5% in 2012 to 25.7% in 2023 (p for trend <0.001), with a significant increase in the use of IVL (from 0.6% in 2020 to 16.6% in 2023; p for trend <0.001) (Central Illustration). In the last 2 years (2021-2023), IVL was the most commonly used calcium modification technique followed by rotational atherectomy. Conclusions: The use of calcium modification techniques for calcified CTO lesions increased over time, with a significant increase in the use of IVL in the last years.