Distal radial artery approach for endovascular therapy

It has been reported that the distal transradial approach (dTRA) is safe and useful for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). In this study we evaluated the safety and efficacy of the dTRA for endovascular therapy (EVT). The dTRA for EVT was performed in 43 lesions from 35 patients. Approach site was determined at the discretion of the operator. Clinical data were analyzed retrospectively. Average patient age was 74.0 ± 6.5 years; 30 (86%) were male; average height was 161.1 ± 8.4 cm. Diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and smoking habit were present in 19 (54.3%), 31 (88.6%), 29 (82.9%), and 29 (82.9%) patients, respectively. Target lesions were iliac artery in 38 (88.4%) patients, superficial femoral artery in 4 (9.3%) and renal artery in the remaining patient (2.3%). Eight lesions (18.6%) were chronic total occlusions. Thirteen (30.2%), 2 (4.7%), and 28 (65.1%) lesions were treated using 4.5, 6, and 7 French long guiding systems, respectively. All lesions were successfully treated without any procedural or access site-related complications. No additional puncture sites were required. Ankle brachial index significantly improved from 0.62 ± 0.20 to 0.92 ± 0.17 (p < 0.0001) post-treatment for the lower limbs. There were no radial artery occlusions, target lesion revascularization, or complications 1 month later. Similar to PCI, the dTRA for EVT is safe and feasible without any specific complications in carefully selected patients.