[Same-day discharge after elective coronary angioplasty: a single-center initial experience]

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is usually a procedure based on patient's hospitalization. However, the increasingly widespread use of radial access, the technical evolution of the devices employed and current pharmacotherapy standards have simplified this procedure with satisfying outcomes and significantly reduced complications. It can be assumed that overnight hospitalization may not impact patient safety. The purpose of this study is to describe the experience of a single center in the same-day discharge of elective patients undergoing PCI.

A retrospective analysis of the cath-lab database was carried out for the years 2016-2019. All elective PCI patients discharged on the same day were identified. All were observed in a hospital setting for at least 6 h and then, after discharge, interviewed by telephone within 24 h and at 30 days.

During the time interval examined, 36 patients (mean age 66 ± 10 years) who had procedural same-day discharged were identified. From 2016 to 2019, they represented 1.69%, 1.79%, 5.78% and 5.90%, respectively, of the patients electively admitted for PCI annually. All suffered from chronic coronary syndrome, were on dual antiplatelet therapy and treated with radial approach for single-vessel (88.8%) or multivessel (12.2%) PCI. Two in-hospital access site bleedings, no adverse events in the first 24 h and a new readmission, due to gastrointestinal bleeding, at 30-day follow-up were reported.

The results of this initial experience help to confirm that the same-day discharge after a PCI is possible and safe for the patient. If this strategy could be the standard of care to increase patient satisfaction, to improve hospital performance by reducing costs and to increase efficiency without adversely affecting procedural outcomes should be confirmed in larger and unselected groups of patients.