Successful treatment of complex coronary chronic total occlusions improves midterm outcomes

Data regarding outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with chronic total occlusion (CTO) is still limited. Our aim was to evaluate clinical outcomes in patients after successful CTO PCI when compared to patients with failed PCI.

The cohort study enrolled 145 eligible patients with attempted PCI of CTO. Detailed baseline clinical and procedural data, and in-hospital complications were analyzed. The primary end point was occurrence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE).

Median follow-up was 11.49±2.01 months. Successful revascularization was associated with a significantly lower 1-year MACE compared to failed revascularization [hazard ratio (HR): 0.026; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.004-0.176; P=0.0002]. A J-CTO score of ≥3 was associated with a significantly higher 1-year MACE compared with a J-CTO score of <3 in patients undergoing PCI (HR: 4.819; 95% CI: 1.463-15.870; P=0.0097). Moreover, in patients with a J-CTO score ≥3, success of CTO PCI was associated with significantly lower risk of 1-year MACE than failure of CTO revascularization (HR: 0.114; 95% CI: 0.023-0.569; P=0.0081). Multivariate analysis identified the J-CTO score (HR: 2.10; 95% CI: 1.09-4.04; P=0.026) as a positive predictor, and the success of CTO PCI (HR: 0.17; 95% CI: 0.05-0.59; P=0.005) as a negative significant independent predictor of MACEs.

Among patients with CTOs, high J-CTO score was independently associated with worse clinical outcomes. Furthermore, successful PCI was associated with a lower risk of midterm MACE compared with failed revascularization of CTOs.