ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare the ability of conventional versus computed tomography angiography (CTA) to predict procedural success and 30-min wire crossing rates in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for chronic total occlusion (CTO) lesions. BACKGROUND: Coronary CTA can be used to assess the morphology of CTO lesions. METHODS: We examined 205 consecutive patients (218 CTO lesions) who underwent coronary CTA pre-PCI. The J-CTO (Multicenter CTO Registry of Japan) score (the sum of the following 5 binary parameters: blunt proximal cap, calcification, bending >45°, and length of occluded segment >20 mm plus previously failed PCI attempt) was calculated using both CTA and conventional coronary angiography and compared. RESULTS: The median patient age was 69 years (interquartile range: 62 to 75 years), 82.4% were male, and a retrograde approach was attempted in 72 (33.0%) cases. The procedural success rate of the CTO-PCI procedures was 82.6%, and 29.4% of cases achieved 30-min wire crossing. The areas under the curve of the CTA-derived J-CTO score for predicting procedural success and 30-min wire crossing were significantly greater than those derived from conventional angiography (0.855 vs. 0.698; p < 0.001 for procedural success and 0.812 vs. 0.692; p < 0.001, for 30-min wire crossing). In addition, the areas under the curve of CTA-derived evaluations of calcification, bending, and occlusion length were significantly higher than those of derived from angiography for predicting procedural success. CONCLUSIONS: The CTA-derived J-CTO score was a more useful predictor of both procedural success and 30-min wire crossing than the J-CTO score derived from conventional angiography.
