Faculty Bibliography

OBJECTIVES: We sought to describe contemporary guidewire and microcatheter utilization for antegrade wire escalation (AWE) during chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). BACKGROUND: Equipment utilization for AWE has been variable and evolving over time. METHODS: We examined device utilization during 694 AWE attempts in 679 patients performed at 15 experienced US centers between May 2012 and April 2015. RESULTS: Mean age was 65.6 +/- 9.7 years, and 85% of the patients were men. Successful wiring occurred in 436 AWE attempts (63%). Final technical and procedural success was 91% and 89%, respectively. The mean number of guidewire types used for AWE was 2.2 +/- 1.4. The most frequently used guidewire types were the Pilot 200 (Abbott Vascular, 56% of AWE procedures), Fielder XT (Asahi Intecc, 45%), and the Confianza Pro 12 (Asahi Intecc, 28%). The same guidewires were the ones that most commonly crossed the occlusion: Pilot 200 (36% of successful AWE crossings), Fielder XT (20%), and Confianza Pro 12 (11%). A microcatheter or over-the-wire balloon was used for 81% of AWE attempts; the Corsair microcatheter (Asahi Intecc) was the most commonly used (44%). No significant association was found between guidewire type and incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE). CONCLUSIONS: Our contemporary, multicenter CTO PCI registry demonstrates that the most commonly used wires for AWE are polymer-jacketed guidewires. "Stiff" and polymer-jacketed guidewires appear to provide high crossing rates without an increase in MACE or perforation, and may thus be considered for upfront use. (c) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

AIMS: The goal of this study was to describe the procedural characteristics, strategy selection and associated technical and efficiency outcomes for chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of the right coronary artery (RCA). METHODS AND RESULTS: We examined the clinical and angiographic characteristics of patients who underwent RCA CTO PCI between 2012 and 2015 at 11 centres in the USA. The RCA was the CTO target vessel in 739 of 1,308 CTO PCIs (56%). Overall technical and procedural success rates were 90% and 88%, respectively. A major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) occurred in 19 patients (2.6%). Technical success was most frequently achieved using antegrade wire escalation (38% of successful procedures) followed by retrograde (36%) and antegrade dissection/re-entry (26%). Technical success was similar between various locations of RCA CTOs (p=0.11). Compared with antegrade-only procedures, utilisation of any retrograde approach was associated with lower technical (85% vs. 95%, p<0.001) and procedural (82% vs. 94%, p<0.001) success and a higher MACE rate (3.8% vs. 1.4%, p=0.037). CONCLUSIONS: RCA CTOs represent the majority of CTO target lesions, can be treated with high success and acceptable complication rates, and require frequent use of the retrograde approach and antegrade dissection/re-entry.

BACKGROUND: Various scoring systems have been developed to predict the technical outcome and procedural efficiency of chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: We examined the predictive capacity of 3 CTO PCI scores (Clinical and Lesion-related [CL], Multicenter CTO registry in Japan [J-CTO] and Prospective Global Registry for the Study of Chronic Total Occlusion Intervention [PROGRESS CTO] scores) in 664 CTO PCIs performed between 2012 and 2016 at 13 US centers. RESULTS: Technical success was 88% and the retrograde approach was utilized in 41%. Mean CL, J-CTO and PROGRESS CTO scores were 3.9+/-1.9, 2.6+/-1.2 and 1.4+/-1.0, respectively. All scores were inversely associated with technical success (p<0.001 for all) and had moderate discriminatory capacity (area under the curve 0.691 for the CL score, 0.682 for the J-CTO score and 0.647 for the PROGRESS CTO score [p=non-significant for pairwise comparisons]). The difference in technical success between the minimum and maximum CL score strata was the highest (32%, vs. 15% for J-CTO and 18% for PROGRESS CTO scores). All scores tended to perform better in antegrade-only procedures and correlated significantly with procedure time and fluoroscopy dose; the CL score also correlated significantly with contrast utilization. CONCLUSIONS: CL, J-CTO and PROGRESS CTO scores perform moderately in predicting technical outcome of CTO PCI, with better performance for antegrade-only procedures. All scores correlate with procedure time and fluoroscopy dose, and the CL score also correlates with contrast utilization.

BACKGROUND: We sought to determine the effect of lesion age on procedural techniques and outcomes of chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: We examined the characteristics and outcomes of 394 CTO PCIs with data on lesion age, performed between 2012 and 2016 at 11 experienced US centres. RESULTS: Mean patient age was 66 +/- 10 years and 85.6% of the patients were men. Overall technical and procedural success rates were 90.1% and 87.5%, respectively. A major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) occurred in 16 patients (4.1%). Mean and median lesion ages were 43 +/- 62 months and 12 months (interquartile range, 3-64 months), respectively. Patients were stratified into tertiles according to lesion age (3-5, 5-36.3, and > 36.3 months). Older lesion age was associated with older patient age (68 +/- 8 vs 65 +/- 10 vs 64 +/- 11 years; P = 0.009), previous coronary artery bypass grafting (62% vs 42% vs 30%; P < 0.001), and moderate/severe calcification (75% vs 53% vs 59%; P = 0.001). Older lesions more often required use of the retrograde approach and antegrade dissection/re-entry for successful lesion crossing. There was no difference in technical (87.8% vs 89.6% vs 93.0%; P = 0.37) or procedural (86.3% vs 87.4% vs 89.0%; P = 0.80) success, or the incidence of MACE (3.1% vs 3.0% vs 6.3%; P = 0.31) for older vs younger occlusions. CONCLUSIONS: Older CTO lesions exhibit angiographic complexity and more frequently necessitate the retrograde approach or antegrade dissection/re-entry. Older CTOs can be recanalized with high technical and procedural success and acceptable MACE rates. Lesion age appears unlikely to be a significant determinant of CTO PCI success.

BACKGROUND: High success rates are achievable for chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using the hybrid approach, but periprocedural complications remain of concern. Although scores estimating success and efficiency in CTO PCI have been developed, there is currently no available score for estimation of the risk for periprocedural complications. We sought to develop a scoring tool for prediction of periprocedural complications during CTO PCI. METHODS AND RESULTS: We analyzed data from 1569 CTO PCIs in the Prospective Global Registry for the Study of Chronic Total Occlusion Intervention (PROGRESS CTO) using a derivation and validation sampling ratio of 2:1. Variables independently associated with periprocedural complications in multivariable analysis in the derivation set were assigned points based on their respective odds ratios. Forty-four (2.8%) patients experienced complications. Three factors were independent predictors of complications and were included in the score: patient age >65 years, +3 points (odds ratio, OR=4.85, CI 1.82-16.77); lesion length >/=23 mm, +2 points (OR=3.22, CI 1.08-13.89); and use of the retrograde approach +1 point (OR=2.41, CI 1.04-6.05). The resulting score showed good calibration and discriminatory capacity in the derivation (Hosmer-Lemeshow chi2 6.271, P=0.281, receiver-operating characteristic [ROC] area=0.758) and validation (Hosmer-Lemeshow chi2 4.551, P=0.473, ROC area=0.793) sets. Score values of 0 to 2, 3 to 4, and >/=5 were defined as low, intermediate, and high risk of complications (derivation cohort 0.4%, 1.8%, 6.5%, P<0.001; validation cohort 0.0%, 2.5%, 6.8%, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The PROGRESS CTO complication score is a useful tool for prediction of periprocedural complications in CTO PCI. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT02061436.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine the impact of proximal cap ambiguity on procedural techniques and outcomes for coronary chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: We examined the clinical and angiographic characteristics and outcomes of 1021 CTO-PCIs performed between 2012 and 2015 at 11 United States centers. RESULTS: Proximal cap ambiguity was present in 31% of target lesions and was associated with increased clinical and angiographic complexity (prior coronary artery bypass graft surgery: 43% vs 33%; P=.01; moderate/severe calcification 66% vs 51%; P<.001) and lower technical success (85% vs 93%; P<.001) and procedural success (84% vs 91%; P=.01), but similar incidence of major adverse cardiac events (3.2% vs 2.9%; P=.77). A retrograde approach was more commonly utilized among cases with proximal cap ambiguity (68% vs 33%; P<.001), and was more likely to be the initial (39% vs 13%; P<.001) and successful approach (42% vs 20%; P<.001). Proximal cap ambiguity was associated with increased use of intravascular ultrasound (49% vs 36%; P=.01) and contrast (281 mL vs 250 mL; P<.001), higher air kerma radiation dose (4.0 Gy vs 3.0 Gy; P<.001), and longer procedure time (161 min vs 119 min; P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Proximal cap ambiguity is present in one-third of CTO-PCI target lesions and is associated with lower success rates, higher utilization of the retrograde approach, and lower procedural efficiency, but no significant difference in the incidence of major adverse cardiac events.