Coronary stenting approaches in the treatment of chronic total occlusion: contemporary registry-based experience

This 'real-world' investigation attempted to determine the long-term prognoses of patients who have undergone successful revascularization of chronic total occlusion (CTO) lesions.

All consecutive unselected patients from January 2006 to June 2011, undergoing stenting for CTO (n = 272), were retrospectively identified through an institutional registry. Procedural failure was defined as final diameter stenosis greater than 30% or postdilatation thrombolysis in myocardial infarction flow less than 3. Outcomes were assessed based on stenting type [bare metal stent (BMS), drug-eluting stent (DES), or mixed] in the successful procedural cohort. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to account for known baseline cardiovascular risk imbalances. The primary endpoint was 2-year target vessel revascularization.

Overall procedural failure occurred in 55 (20.2%) patients presenting with CTO lesions. Failed revascularization was independently associated with multivessel disease, lesion lengths greater than 15 mm, tortuous segments, and presence of calcifications. Major complications included coronary dissection (10%) and perforation (2%). Of the successful procedures, 141 (64%) underwent pure DES, 46 (21%) pure BMS, and 34 (15%) mixed stenting. At 2-year follow-up, fewer patients in the DES group required repeat revascularization compared to the mixed stenting group (6 vs. 26%; P = 0.002). Mixed stenting was an independent predictor of long-term target vessel revascularization (adjusted odds ratio 2.1, 95% confidence interval 1.1-4.1, P = 0.02) compared to DES.

Failed revascularization of CTO lesions occurs in a fifth of patients and appears to be associated with complex vessel anatomy. Our data suggest that DES use in this setting are associated with improved 2-year clinical endpoints compared with pure BMS or mixed stenting approaches.