Determinants of percutaneous coronary intervention success in repeat chronic total occlusion procedures following an initial failed attempt.

AIM: To investigate the rates and determinants of success of repeat percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) following an initial failed attempt at recanalising the chronic total occlusions (CTO) percutaneously. METHODS: In 445 consecutive first attempt CTO-PCI procedures in our institution, procedural failure occurred in 149 (33.5%). Sixty-four re-PCI procedures were performed in 58 patients (39%) all had a single CTO. Procedural and outcome data in the re-PCI population was entered into the institutional database. A retrospective analysis of clinical, angiographic and procedural data was performed. RESULTS: Procedural success was achieved in 41 (64%) procedures. Univariate analysis of clinical and angiographic characteristics showed that re-PCI success was associated with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) guidance (19.5% vs 0%, P = 0.042), while failure was associated with severe calcification (30.4% vs 9.7%, P = 0.047) and a JCTO score > 3 (56.5% vs 17.1% P = 0.003). Following multiple regression analysis the degree of lesion complexity (J-CTO score > 3), IVUS use, involvement of an experienced CTO operator and LAD CTO location were significant predictors of successful re-PCI. Overall the complication rate was low, with the only MACCE two periprocedural MI's neither of which required intervention. CONCLUSION: Re-PCI substantially increases the overall success rate of CTO revascularization. Predictors of re-PCI success included the use of IVUS, the involvement of an experienced CTO operator in the repeat attempt and the location of the CTO.

Rescue percutaneous intervention for acute complications of coronary artery surgery.

Although percutaneous interventions in the context of perioperative coronary artery surgery ischaemic complications are not unusual, this type of secondary revascularisation is rarely addressed in the literature. Information on aspects such as complications and clinical outcome is limited, in spite of this being a high-risk population. To shed light on the subject, the present article presents a systematic review of the literature on this topic, along with the analysis of the institutional experience at a centre with high surgical and percutaneous revascularisation case volume.