Immediate outcome of chronic total occlusion opening in post-angioplasty patients

The study sought to compare procedural outcomes for patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of a chronic total coronary artery occlusion (CTO) with a matched non-CTO cohort. Percutaneous coronary intervention of a CTO is a common occurrence, and the outcome for patients with successful PCI of a CTO has not been clearly defined. Between November 2006 and December 2010, a total of 2,000 consecutive patients consecutively underwent PCI for a CTO. Utilizing propensity scoring methods, a matched non-CTO cohort of 2,000 patients was identified and compared to the CTO group. The cohorts were stratified as successful and failed procedures in United Hospital Limited Dhaka. The in-hospital major adverse cardiac event (MACE) rate was 3.8% in the CTO cohort. Technical success has improved over the last 10 years (overall 74.4%, slope 1.0%/year, p=0.02, R²=49.9%) as did procedural success (overall 69.9%, slope 1.2%/year, p=0.02, R²=51.5%) without a concomitant increase in in-hospital MACE rates (slope 0.1%/year, p=0.7). There was a distinct advantage for successful CTO treatment compared with failed CTO treatment (73.5% vs. 65.1%, p=0.001). The CTO versus non-CTO survival was the same (71.2% vs. 71.4%, p=0.9). Diabetics in the CTO cohort had a lower survival compared with non-diabetics (58.3% vs. 74.3%, p=0.0001). These data represent outcome of PCI for a CTO. The 10-year survival rates for matched non-CTO and the CTO cohorts were similar. Success rates have continued to improve without an accompanying increase in MACE rates. A successfully revascularized CTO confers a significant survival advantage compared with failed revascularization.