Contemporary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Research Articles

Differences between sexes in STEMI treatment and outcomes with contemporary primary PCI.

Historically, differences in timely reperfusion and outcomes have been described in females who suffer ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). However, there have been improvements in the treatment of STEMI patients with contemporary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) strategies. Comparisons between sexes were performed on STEMI patients treated with primary PCI over a 4-year period (January 1, 2017-December 31, 2020) from the Queensland Cardiac Outcomes Registry. Primary outcomes were 30-day and 1-year cardiovascular mortality. Secondary outcomes were STEMI performance measures. The total and direct effects of gender on mortality outcomes were estimated using logistic and multinomial logistic regression models. Overall, 2747 (76% male) were included. Females were on average older (65.9 vs. 61.9 years; p < 0.001), had longer total ischemic time (69 min vs. 52 min; p < 0.001) and less achievement of STEMI performance targets (<90 min) (50% vs. 58%; p < 0.001). There was no evidence for a total (odds ratio [OR] 1.3 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.8-2.2; p = 0.35) or direct (adjusted OR 1.2 (95% CI: 0.7-2.1; p = 0.58) effect of female sex on 30-day mortality. One-year mortality was higher in females (6.9% vs. 4.4%; p = 0.014) with total effect estimates consistent with increased risk of cardiovascular mortality (Incidence rate ratio [IRR]: 1.5; 95% CI: 1.0-2.3; p = 0.059) and noncardiovascular mortality (IRR: 2.1; 95% CI: 0.9-4.7; p = 0.077) in females. However, direct (adjusted) effect estimates of cardiovascular mortality (IRR: 1.0; 95% CI: 0.6-1.6; p = 0.94) indicated sex differences were explained by confounders and mediators. Small sex differences in STEMI performance measures still exist; however, with contemporary primary PCI strategies, sex is not associated with cardiovascular mortality at 30 days or 1 year.

Smoking and 10-year risk of cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular events after contemporary coronary stenting

The impact of smoking cessation on long-term clinical outcomes after contemporary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is not well known. We estimated the association of smoking and smoking cessation on the 10-year risk of cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular events in patients after contemporary PCI in a multicenter retrospective cohort of all patients having PCI with second generation drug-eluting stents in the VA Healthcare System between 2008 and 2016. Smoking status, comorbidities and clinical outcomes were extracted from the medical record and the National Death Index. Hazard ratios and 95 % confidence intervals (HR, 95 %CI) were derived from Cox Proportional Hazards Models. Estimates of events prevented from smoking cessation were derived from the differences in absolute risks between subjects who smoked and had stopped smoking. Among 29,001 patients, 10,598 (36.5 %) were current smoking patients, 13,093 (45.1 %) were former smoking patients, and 5,310 (18.3 %) never smoked. Over 10 years, 7,806 (26.9 %) subjects died with non-cardiovascular deaths exceeding cardiovascular deaths. In multivariable models, current smoking was significantly associated with increased long-term risks of all-cause death (HR = 1.27, 95 %CI = 1.19, 1.36), myocardial infarction (HR = 1.32, 95 %CI = 1.21–1.43), cancer death (HR = 2.55, 95 % CI = 2.10, 3.08), and pulmonary death (HR = 4.07, 95 % CI = 2.85, 5.83). Smoking cessation may prevent 18.5 % (95 %CI = 16.0 %, 20.9 %) all-cause deaths, 14.8 % (95 %CI = 9.8 %, 19.6 %) cardiovascular deaths, 42.6 % (95 %CI = 37.7 %, 47.2 %) cancer deaths, and 48.3 % (95 %CI = 41.8 %, 54.2 %) pulmonary deaths among smokers. Stopping smoking will likely have major impacts on non-cardiovascular events as well as cardiovascular events in patients after PCI with second generation drug-eluting stents.

Optimal timing of staged percutaneous coronary intervention after subintimal tracking and re-entry: Rationale and design of the subintimal tracking and re-entry with deferred stenting study.

Ten to fifteen percent of chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) are unsuccessful in contemporary practice. Subintimal tracking and re-entry (STAR) (one form of "investment procedure") with staged reattempt and stenting may further increase the ultimate success and safety of CTO as a bailout strategy. The optimal timing for staged stenting after STAR is unknown. We designed a six-center, prospective randomized trial with a planned enrollment of 150 patients where STAR is utilized in case of impending failure. The primary aim is to evaluate the optimal timing of the staged PCI after STAR by randomizing the timing to earlier (5-7 weeks) versus later (12-14 weeks) staged PCI. The primary endpoint of the study is the technical success rate of the staged procedure. The secondary endpoints include: (1) the rate of thrombolysis in myocardial infarction 3 flow at the start of staged intervention, (2) rate of partial technical and procedural success of the staged procedure, (3) rate of in-hospital and 12-month major cardiac and cerebrovascular adverse events, and (4) change in patient-reported quality at 30 days, 6 months, and 12 months assessed by Seattle Angina Questionnaire. This study will ascertain the optimal timing of staged stenting after bail-out STAR approach in contemporary CTO PCI (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05089864).

Prognostic impact of heart failure admission in survivors of acute myocardial infarction.

The incidence and prognosis of symptomatic heart failure following acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the primary percutaneous coronary intervention era have rarely been reported in the literature. This study aimed to (i) determine the incidence of heart failure admission among AMI survivors, (ii) compare 1year outcomes between patients with heart failure admission and those without, and (iii) identify the independent risk factors associated with heart failure admission. The Japan Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry is a prospective multicentre registry from which data on consecutively enrolled patients with AMI from 50 institutions between 2015 and 2017 were obtained. Among the 3411 patients enrolled, 3226 who survived until discharge were included in this study. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality. The secondary endpoints were major adverse cardiovascular events (defined as cardiovascular mortality, non-fatal myocardial infarction, or non-fatal cerebral infarction) and major bleeding events corresponding to Bleeding Academic Research Consortium Type 3 or 5. Clinical outcomes were compared between the patients who were and were not admitted for heart failure. Over a median follow-up of 12months, 124 patients (3.8%) were admitted due to heart failure. Independent risk factors for heart failure admission included older age, female sex, Killip class ≥2 on admission, left ventricular ejection fraction <40%, estimated glomerular filtration rate ≤30mL/min/1.73m2, a history of malignancy, and non-use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors at discharge. The cumulative incidence of all-cause mortality was significantly higher in the heart failure admission group than in the no heart failure admission group (11.3% vs. 2.5%, P<0.001). The rates of major adverse cardiovascular events (16.9% vs. 2.7%, P<0.001) and major bleeding (6.5% vs. 1.6%, P<0.001) were significantly higher in the heart failure admission group. Heart failure admission was associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality, even after adjusting for potential confounders (adjusted hazard ratio: 2.41, 95% confidence interval: 1.33-4.39, P=0.004). Utilizing real-world data of the contemporary percutaneous coronary intervention era from the Japan Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry database, this study demonstrates that the heart failure admission of AMI survivors was significantly associated with higher all-cause mortality rates.

Impact of preprocedural left ventricular systolic function on the safety and durability of percutaneous coronary intervention.

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is considered less safe in patients with reduced ejection fraction (EF), an impression based on older data. Whether the safety and durability of contemporary PCI are different in patients with reduced EF compared with normal EF patients is unknown. Patients from the BIOFLOW II, IV and V clinical trials were grouped as normal EF (≥50%) and reduced EF (30%-50%). Using multivariable logistic regression and cox proportional hazards regression, we determined relations of EF category with procedural safety (a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, stroke and urgent coronary artery bypass grafting within 30 days of PCI) and target lesion failure (TLF; comprising cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction, target vessel revascularization within 1 year of PCI) respectively. In sensitivity analyses, we regrouped patients into EF < 45% and ≥55% and repeated the aforementioned analyses. In 1685 patients with normal EF (mean age 65 years; 27% women; mean EF 61%) and 259 with low EF (mean age 64 years; 17% women; mean EF 41%), 101 safety and 148 TLF events occurred. Compared with patients in the normal EF group, those with reduced EF had neither a statistically significant higher proportion of safety events, nor a higher multivariable-adjusted risk for such events. Similarly, patients with reduced EF and normal EF did not differ in terms of TLF event proportions or multivariable-adjusted risk for TLF. The results were similar in sensitivity analyses with EF groups redefined to create a 10% between-group EF separation. PCI safety and durability outcomes are similar in patients with mild-moderately reduced EF and normal EF.

Radiation dose during contemporary percutaneous coronary interventions for chronic total occlusion: insights from the PROGRESS-CTO registry.

Chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is associated with high radiation doses. In this manuscript, we examined the contemporary trends and determinants of radiation dose in the PROGRESS CTO (Prospective Global Registry for the Study of CTO Intervention; Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT02061436) registry. Radiation dose during CTO PCI did not change significantly since 2020, highlighting the need for innovation and operator education to further maintain radiation safety.

Influence of left ventricular ejection fraction in patients undergoing contemporary pLVAD-supported high-risk PCI

Left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction worsens outcomes in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The objective of this study, therefore, was to evaluate outcomes of pLVAD-supported high-risk PCI (HRPCI) patients according to LV ejection fraction (LVEF). Patients from the PROTECT III study undergoing pLVAD-supported HRPCI were stratified according to baseline LVEF: severe LV dysfunction (LVEF <30%), mild and moderate LV dysfunction (LVEF ≥30% to <50%), or preserved LV function (LVEF ≥50%). Major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE: composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction, stroke/transient ischemic attack, and repeat revascularization), and PCI-related complications were assessed at 90 days and mortality was assessed at 1-year. From March 2017 to March 2020, 940 patients had evaluable baseline LVEF recorded in the study database. Patients with preserved LV function were older, more frequently presented with myocardial infarction, and underwent more left main PCI and atherectomy. Immediate PCI-related coronary complications were infrequent (2.7%, overall), similar between groups (P = 0.98), and not associated with LVEF. Unadjusted 90-day MACCE rates were similar among LVEF groups; however, as a continuous variable, LVEF was associated with both 90-day MACCE (adj.HR per 5% 0.89, 95% CI [0.80, 0.98], P = 0.018) and 1-year mortality (adj.HR per 5% 0.84 [0.78, 0.90], P <0.0001). Patients who underwent pLVAD-supported HRPCI exhibited low incidence of PCI-related complications, regardless of baseline LVEF. However, LVEF was associated with 90-day MACCE and 1-year mortality.

High bleeding risk (HBR) in contemporary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) Malaysian Cohort

High bleeding risk (HBR) in contemporary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) Malaysian Cohort

Intra-coronary physiology in contemporary percutaneous coronary intervention and anginal therapy with a focus on microvascular disease

Coronary physiological measurements have transformed the treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD), with increasing evidence supporting the use of pressure wire guided revascularisation. Advances in microvascular assessment have enabled clinicians to discern angina aetiology even in patients without obstructive epicardial coronary artery disease, paving the way for more effective tailored therapy. In this article, the authors will examine pressure wire indices, their role in influencing clinical outcomes and future directions.

Variability in Contemporary Heparin Prescription and Activated Clotting Time Monitoring During Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Call for Up-To-Date Evidence-Based Guidelines

Unfractionated heparin (UFH) is the preferred anticoagulant agent in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures for minimising the risk of thrombotic complications. Because of the narrow therapeutic range of UFH, some society guidelines have advocated the use of the activated clotting time (ACT) test to monitor anticoagulation intensity during PCI to reduce thrombotic and bleeding complications. We aimed to assess the current practice of UFH prescription and its monitoring in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). We conducted an anonymous voluntary cross-sectional survey of interventional cardiologists (ICs) who were members of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand in 2022. The survey included 10 questions pertaining to the current practice of anticoagulation during PCI. Of 430 ICs surveyed, 148 responded (response rate, 34.4%). Most ICs (84.4%) prescribed 70-100 IU/kg of UFH for PCI. Over half of ICs (58.7%) routinely measured ACT during PCI, whereas only 22.2% routinely measured ACT after PCI to guide additional UFH prescription. Among ICs who prescribed additional UFH, approximately half (48%) aimed for ACT ≥250 seconds. Factors that influenced post-PCI UFH prescription included vascular access site and concomitant antiplatelet or anticoagulant therapy. The contemporary practice of UFH prescription during PCI and ACT monitoring in ANZ is variable and based on outdated evidence preceding current drug-eluting stents, antiplatelet therapies, and radial-first practice. Current society guideline recommendations lack clarity and agreement, reflecting the quality of the available evidence. Up-to-date clinical trials evaluating UFH prescription and ACT monitoring are needed to optimise clinical outcomes in contemporary PCI procedures.

International survey of chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention operators.

Contemporary chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) practice has received limited study. To examine the contemporary CTO PCI practice. We performed an online, anonymous, international survey of CTO PCI operators. Five hundred forty-fiveCTO PCI operators and 190 interventional cardiology fellows with an interest in CTO PCI participated in this survey. Almost half were from the United States (41%), most (93%) were men, and the median h/week spent in the hospital was 58. Median annual case numbers were 205 (150-328) for PCIs and 20 (5-50) for CTO PCIs. Almost one-fifth (17%) entered CTO cases into registries, such as PROGRESS-CTO (55%) and EuroCTO (20%). More than one-third worked at academic institutions (39%), 31% trained dedicated CTO fellows, and 22% proctored CTO PCI. One-third (34%) had dedicated CTO PCI days. Most (51%) never discharged CTO patients the same day, while 17% discharged CTO patients the same day >50% of the time. After successful guidewire crossing, 38% used intravascular imaging >90% of the time. Most used CTO scores including J-CTO (81%), PROGRESS-CTO (35%), and PROGRESS-CTO complications scores (30%). Coronary artery perforation was encountered within the last month by 19%. On a scale of 0-10, the median comfort levels in treating coronary artery perforation were: covered stents 8.8 (7.0-10), coil embolization 5.0 (2.1-8.5), and fat embolization 3.7 (0.6-7.3). Most (51%) participants had a complication cart/kit and 25% conducted regular complication drills with catheterization laboratory staff. Contemporary CTO PCI practices vary widely. Further research on barriers to following the guiding principles of CTO PCI may improve patient outcomes.

Clinical and vessel characteristics associated with hard outcomes after PCI and their combined prognostic implications

Abstract Background While clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have improved in recent decades, cardiac death or myocardial infarction (MI) still occurs in patients undergoing contemporary PCI. An integrative risk model for post-PCI hard clinical endpoints incorporating clinical risk factors, angiographic and physiological vessel characteristics has not been established. Purpose To identify adverse clinical and vessel characteristics related to hard outcomes after PCI and to investigate their individual and combined prognostic implications. Methods From an individual patient data meta-analysis of 17 cohorts of patients who underwent post-PCI fractional flow reserve (FFR) measurement after drug eluting stent (DES) implantation, 2,081 patients with available 10 clinical characteristics (age, sex, clinical diagnosis at index procedure, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, smoking history, chronic kidney disease [CKD], prior myocardial infarction, left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF]) and 8 vessel characteristics (target vessel, reference vessel diameter, % diameter stenosis, minimum lumen diameter [MLD], post-PCI % diameter stenosis, post-PCI MLD, total stent length in the target vessel, and post-PCI FFR) were analyzed. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) model was applied for feature selection. The primary outcome was cardiac death or target vessel-MI at 2-years. Results The mean age of patients was 64.2±10.2 years, and the mean angiographic % diameter stenosis was 63.9±14.3%. Among 10 clinical and 8 vessel features, 4 adverse clinical characteristics (ACCs; age ≥65 years, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and left ventricular ejection fraction &amp;lt;50%) and 2 adverse vessel characteristics (AVCs; post-PCI FFR ≤0.80 and total stent length ≥54 mm) were selected by the LASSO model. All ACCs and AVCs were independent predictors for the primary outcome (HR 3.33 [95% CI 1.34 – 8.25], P =0.009 for age ≥65 years; HR 2.62 [1.22 – 5.65], P =0.014 for diabetes; HR 5.95 [2.52 – 14.1], P &amp;lt;0.001 for CKD; HR 2.91 [1.17 – 7.20], P =0.021 for LVEF &amp;lt;50%; HR 3.79 [1.73 – 8.28], P &amp;lt;0.001 for post-PCI FFR ≤0.80; HR 2.42 [1.08 – 5.39], P =0.031 for total stent length ≥54 mm). The number of AVCs had additive predictability for the primary endpoint to that of ACCs (AUC 0.72 vs 0.78, P =0.03), and vice versa (AUC 0.68 vs 0.78, P =0.03). The cumulative event rate increased in the order of none, either, and both of ACCs ≥2 and AVCs ≥1 (0.3%, 2.4%, and 5.3%, P-for-trend &amp;lt;0.01) (Figure). Conclusions In patients undergoing DES implantation, adverse clinical and vessel characteristics were associated with the risk of cardiac death or target vessel-MI. Since these characteristics showed independent and additive prognostic value, their integrative assessment can optimize post-PCI risk stratification.

Abstract 12127: Diagnostic Performance of Fractional Flow Reserve, Instantaneous Wave-Free Ratio and Quantitative Flow Ratio, on the Same Patient and Procedure

Introduction: Contemporary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) seeks precision and physiological assessment of coronary artery stenosis. Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) is currently the gold standard for lesion physiology assessment; however, it's invasive and expensive. Other modalities, such as Quantitative Flow Ratio (QFR) and Instantaneous Wave-Free Ratio (iFR), can also determine the functional repercussion of coronary stenosis less invasively. Hypothesis: The results of FFR, iFR, and QFR of the same lesion, obtained during the same PCI, demonstrate the significant diagnostic capability of iFR and QFR, compared with FFR. Methods: Retrospective and unicentric study with stable chronic heart disease patients who underwent PCI. For every angiographic lesion, FFR, iFR and QFR were realized during the PCI. QFR was performed by an X-ray technician, blinded to the FFR and iFR results. A descriptive analysis was performed, as well as a correlation between the three measurements with Pearson’s r, chi-square, and ROC curve; and Bland-Altman plot for the results of FFR and QFR. Results: Thirty-six lesions of 27 patients were analyzed. For FFR, stenosis was considered significant when the result was &lt;0.80, obtaining 17 lesions (52%) as significant; for iFR, it was &lt;0.89, obtaining 14 significant lesions (38%); and for QFR, it was &lt;0.85, resulting in 19 (52%) significant lesions. Considering that FFR is the actual gold standard, a ROC curve was used to analyze QFR, were the best cutoff value was 0.88 with a sensitivity of 88% and specificity of 64% (AUC of 0.86, 95% CI 0.736- 0.991, p&lt;0.001), while for iFR the best cutoff value was 0.90 with a sensitivity of 82% and specificity of 74% (AUC of 0.85, 95% CI 0.722-0.984, p&lt;0.001). Pearson’s r revealed a significant correlation between FFR-iFR (r=0.6, p&lt;0.001), FFR-QFR (r=0.58, p&lt;0.001), and QFR-iFR (r=0.62, p&lt;0.001). Bland-Altman plot showed no significant difference between the data obtained with FFR and QFR. Chi-square test determined (p&lt;0.001) that the three angiographic methods had a good correlation in determining whether a lesion was significant. Conclusion: The study demonstrated the significant diagnostic capability that the QFR and iFR methods have, when compared against the current gold standard FFR.

Abstract 14721: International Chronic Total Occlusion Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Operator Survey

Background: Contemporary chronic total occlusions (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) practice has received limited study. Methods: We performed an online, anonymous, international survey of CTO PCI operators. Results: 104 CTO PCI operators and 12 interventional cardiology fellows with an interest in CTO PCI participated in this survey. Most were from the United States (53%), men (95%), and spent a median of 60 hours/week in the hospital. Median annual case numbers were 250 (150-400) for PCIs and 43 (10-85) for CTO PCIs (Figure). Almost half (42%) entered CTO cases into registries, mainly into PROGRESS-CTO (78%) and EuroCTO (11%). Most worked at academic institutions (55%), 55% trained dedicated CTO fellows, and 43% proctored CTO PCI. Almost half (43%) had dedicated CTO PCI days, and 54% performed dual access &gt;90% of the time. Nearly half (42%) never discharged CTO patients the same day, while 20% discharged CTO patients the same day &gt;50% of the time. After successful guidewire crossing, 51% used intravascular imaging &gt;90% of the time. Most used CTO scores including J-CTO (82%), PROGRESS-CTO (42%), and PROGRESS-CTO complication scores (24%). Coronary artery perforation was encountered within the last month by 31%, and within 1-6 months by 35%. On a scale of 0-10, the median comfort levels were: covered stents 9.7 (8.2-10), coil embolization 8.0 (5.0-9.7), and fat embolization 5.0 (2.0-9.4). The majority (55%) had a complication cart/kit and 22% conducted regular complication drills with catheterization laboratory staff. Conclusion: Our survey provides information on the contemporary CTO PCI practices.

PREVALENCE, RISK FACTORS, MANAGEMENT, OUTCOMES, AND PREDICTORS OF MORTALITY IN RETROPERITONEAL HEMATOMA AFTER PERCUTANEOUS CORONARY INTERVENTION

The development of complications related to femoral artery puncture continues to be frequent following contemporary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The basic aim of the study is to find retroperitoneal hematoma after percutaneous coronary intervention prevalence, risk factors, management, outcomes, and predictors of mortality. This retrospective cohort study was conducted at the Peshawar Institute of Cardiology, Peshawar, from January 2022 to April 2023. The study population consisted of patients who underwent PCI procedures. Sixty-eight patients who developed RPH after PCI were included in the analysis. Demographic information such as age, gender, and relevant baseline characteristics of the patients was recorded. Clinical variables encompassed comorbidities (e.g., hypertension, diabetes mellitus), the indication for PCI (e.g., stable angina, acute coronary syndrome), and procedural details, including the access site and anticoagulant medications. Data was collected from 68 patients. The mean age of patients who developed RPH was 63.7 years, ranging from 45 to 78 years. Gender distribution showed 60% male and 40% female patients. Common comorbidities among this cohort included hypertension (80% of cases) and diabetes mellitus (45% of cases). The study identified several risk factors associated with the development of RPH post-PCI, including female gender (p &lt; 0.05), anticoagulant use (p &lt; 0.01), and hypertension (p &lt; 0.05), which demonstrated a statistically significant association. Based on the results, the study provides valuable insights into the prevalence, risk factors, management strategies, clinical outcomes, and predictors of mortality associated with RPH following PCI.

TCT-216 Defining High-Risk Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Characteristics of Patients Undergoing Contemporary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With Axial-Flow Mechanical Support

TCT-216 Defining High-Risk Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Characteristics of Patients Undergoing Contemporary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With Axial-Flow Mechanical Support

Intervención de lesiones en bifurcación relacionadas con oclusión coronaria crónica total: incidencia, tratamiento y resultados hospitalarios

Introduction and objectivesCoronary chronic total occlusions (CTO) involving bifurcation lesions are a challenging lesion subset that is understudied in the literature. This study analyzed the incidence, procedural strategy, in-hospital outcomes and complications of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) for bifurcation-CTO (BIF-CTO). MethodsWe assessed data from 607 consecutive CTO patients treated at the Institut Cardiovasculaire Paris Sud (ICPS), Massy, France between January 2015 and February 2020. Procedural strategy, in-hospital outcomes and complication rates were compared between 2 patient subgroups: BIF-CTO (n=245=and non–BIF-CTO (n=362). ResultsThe mean patient age was 63.2±10.6 years; 79.6% were men. Bifurcation lesions were involved in 40.4% of the procedures. Overall lesion complexity was high (mean J-CTO score 2.30±1.16, mean PROGRESS-CTO score 1.37±0.94). The preferred bifurcation treatment strategy was a provisional approach (93.5%). BIF-CTO patients presented with higher lesion complexity, as assessed by J-CTO score (2.42±1.02 vs 2.21±1.23 in the non–BIF-CTO patients, P=.025) and PROGRESS-CTO score (1.60±0.95 vs 1.22±0.90 in the non–BIF-CTO patients, P<.001). Procedural success was 78.9% and was not affected by the presence of bifurcation lesions (80.4% in the BIF-CTO group, 77.8% in the non–BIF-CTO-CTO group, P=.447) or the bifurcation site (proximal BIF-CTO 76.9%, mid–BIF-CTO 83.8%, distal BIF-CTO 85%, P=.204). Complication rates were similar in BIF-CTO and non–BIF-CTO. ConclusionsThe incidence of bifurcation lesions is high in contemporary CTO PCI. Patients with BIF-CTO present with higher lesion complexity, with no impact on procedural success or complication rates when the predominant strategy is provisional stenting.

Comparison of Outcomes of Elective Percutaneous Coronary Intervention between Complex and High-Risk Intervention in Indicated Patients (CHIP) versus Non-CHIP.

Complex and high-risk intervention in indicated patients (CHIP) is an emerging concept in the contemporary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). CHIP is known to consist three factors, namely, (1) patient factors, (2) complicated heart disease, and (3) complex PCI. However, it remains unclear whether additional CHIP factors further increase the incidence of complications in complex PCI. Thus, in this study, we aim to compare the incidence of complications among definite CHIP, possible CHIP, and non-CHIP in terms of complex PCI and to further investigate the association between CHIP and complications. The primary aim of this study was to determine the major complications in PCI. We included 989 PCI lesions and divided those into definite CHIP (n=140), possible CHIP (n=397), and the non-CHIP groups (n=452). The incidence of major complications was noted to be the highest in the definite CHIP, followed by the possible CHIP, and lowest in the non-CHIP (p=0.001). The multivariate logistic regression analysis using a generalized estimating equation revealed definite CHIP (versus non-CHIP: odds ratio (OR) 2.099, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.062-4.150, p=0.033) was significantly associated with major complications after controlling for confounding factors. Another multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed immunosuppressive drugs (OR 3.040, 95% CI 1.251-7.386, p=0.014), unstable hemodynamics (OR 5.753, 95% CI 1.217-27.201, p=0.027), and frailty (OR 2.039, 95% CI 1.108-3.751, p=0.022) were significantly associated with major complications among CHIP factors. The incidence of major complications in complex PCI was determined to be the highest in the definite CHIP, followed by the possible CHIP and lowest in the non-CHIP. Thus, more attention should be given to the three components of CHIP to prevent major complications in complex PCI.

Clinical and Vessel Characteristics Associated With Hard Outcomes After PCI and Their Combined Prognostic Implications.

Background Cardiac death or myocardial infarction still occurs in patients undergoing contemporary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We aimed to identify adverse clinical and vessel characteristics related to hard outcomes after PCI and to investigate their individual and combined prognostic implications. Methods and Results From an individual patient data meta-analysis of 17 cohorts of patients who underwent post-PCI fractional flow reserve measurement after drug-eluting stent implantation, 2081 patients with available clinical and vessel characteristics were analyzed. The primary outcome was cardiac death or target-vessel myocardial infarction at 2 years. The mean age of patients was 64.2±10.2 years, and the mean angiographic percent diameter stenosis was 63.9%±14.3%. Among 11 clinical and 8 vessel features, 4 adverse clinical characteristics (age ≥65 years, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and left ventricular ejection fraction <50%) and 2 adverse vessel characteristics (post-PCI fractional flow reserve ≤0.80 and total stent length ≥54 mm) were identified to independently predict the primary outcome (all P<0.05). The number of adverse vessel characteristics had additive predictability for the primary end point to that of adverse clinical characteristics (area under the curve 0.72 versus 0.78; P=0.03) and vice versa (area under the curve 0.68 versus 0.78; P=0.03). The cumulative event rate increased in the order of none, either, and both of adverse clinical characteristics ≥2 and adverse vessel characteristics ≥1 (0.3%, 2.4%, and 5.3%; P for trend <0.01). Conclusions In patients undergoing drug-eluting stent implantation, adverse clinical and vessel characteristics were associated with the risk of cardiac death or target-vessel myocardial infarction. Becausethese characteristics showed independent and additive prognostic value, their integrative assessment can optimize post-PCI risk stratification. Registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT04684043. www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/. Unique Identifier: CRD42021234748.

Ultrathin Strut Biodegradable Polymer-Coated Sirolimus-Eluting Coronary Stents: Patient-Level Pooled Analysis From Two Indian Registries.

Background Despite significant evolution in stent technology, female gender, and patients with diabetes mellitus, multivessel disease, total occlusions, long lesions, and small vessels represent the "Achilles' heel" of contemporary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We performed a pooled analysis of high-risk subgroup on patient-level data from the T-Flex registry (1,203 patients) and a real-world Indian registry (1,269 patients), with the aim of assessing one-year safety and clinical performance of ultrathin strut biodegradable polymer-coated Supra family of sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) (Sahajanand Medical Technologies Limited, Surat, India) in the real-world, all-comer population. Method We pooled the following high-risk subgroups data from two all-comer registries: female gender (n=678), diabetes mellitus (n=852), multivessel disease (n=406), total occlusions (n=420), long lesions (≥28 mm) (n=1241), and small vessels (≤2.5 mm) (n=726). Both the registries included patients with coronary artery disease who underwent implantation of at least one SES belonging to the Supra family of stents from May 2016 until March 2018, irrespective of lesion complexity and comorbidities. The primary endpoint was the inci-dence of target lesion failure (TLF), a composite of cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction, and clinically indicated target lesion revas-cularization by percutaneous or surgical methods up to one year. The safety endpoint was stent thrombosis. Results According to prespecified high-risk subgroups, one-year rates of TLF and overall stent thrombosis, respectively, were as follows: female gender (4.9% and 0.6%), diabetes mellitus (6.9% and 1.0%), multivessel disease (6.4% and 0.8%), total occlusions (5.2% and 0.5%), long lesions (≥28 mm) (6.6% and 0.8%), and small vessels (≤2.5 mm) (6.1% and 1.3%). Conclusion This present pooled analysis demonstrated the one-year safety and clinical performance of ultrathin strut biodegradable polymer-coated Supra family of SES in a real-world, all-comer population, with considerably low rates of TLF and stent thrombosis.