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Interventional Diagnostic Procedure: A Practical Guide for the Assessment of Coronary Vascular Function
Published on: March 15, 2022
Procedural Complexity and Bleeding Risk in Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention
Ridhima Goel1, Alessandro Spirito2, Davide Cao2
1The Zena and Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.
Insights
Complex percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) increases risks for high bleeding risk (HBR) and non-high bleeding risk patients. Both groups face higher rates of major adverse cardiac events and major bleeding after complex PCI compared to non-complex procedures.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Interventional Cardiology
- Clinical Outcomes Research
Background:
- The outcomes of complex percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with high bleeding risk (HBR) are not well-established.
- Complex PCI involves treating multiple vessels/lesions, using long stents, or addressing challenging anatomy like chronic total occlusions or left main disease.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of complex PCI on major adverse cardiac events (MACE) and major bleeding in HBR and non-HBR patients.
- To compare outcomes between complex and non-complex PCI procedures in a large patient cohort.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 16,966 patients undergoing PCI at a referral center.
- Patients were categorized as HBR based on established criteria.
- Complex PCI was defined by specific procedural characteristics (e.g., number of vessels/stents/lesions treated, stent length, specific lesion types).
Main Results:
- Complex PCI was associated with a significantly higher risk of MACE in both HBR (adj. HR 1.78) and non-HBR (adj. HR 1.82) patients compared to non-complex PCI.
- Major bleeding risk was also elevated after complex PCI in both HBR (adj. HR 1.55) and non-HBR (adj. HR 1.36) groups.
- These associations remained significant regardless of bleeding risk status.
Conclusions:
- Complex PCI independently increases the risk of both ischemic events (MACE) and major bleeding at one year.
- The findings highlight the need for careful consideration of procedural complexity in patients undergoing PCI, particularly those at high bleeding risk.
Abstract:
The impact of complex coronary anatomy on outcomes in patients at high bleeding risk (HBR) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) remains unclear. Patients from a large PCI referral center were labeled as HBR in presence of ≥1 major or ≥2 minor Academic Research Consortium HBR criteria and undergoing complex PCI if they had any of the following: ≥3 vessels treated, ≥3 stents implanted, ≥3 lesions treated, stent length >60 mm, bifurcation lesion with ≥2 stents, PCI of chronic total occlusion, left main, saphenous venous graft or requiring the use of atherectomy. Primary outcomes at 1 year were major adverse cardiac event (MACE), a composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction or target vessel revascularization, and major bleeding. Of 16,966 patients, 7,295 (43.0%) were HBR with 3,611 (49.5%) undergoing complex PCI and 9,671 (57.0%) were non-HBR with 4,103 (42.4%) undergoing complex PCI. At 1 year, patients with complex PCI had a higher risk of MACE in both HBR (adjusted Hazard Ratio [adj. HR] 1.78, 95% Confidence Interval [95% CI] 1.54 to 2.06) and non-HBR (adj. HR 1.82 95% CI 1.55 to 2.12, respectively, pint 0.64) groups and a higher risk of major bleeding (adj. HR 1.55, 95% CI 1.29 to 1.87 and adj. HR 1.36, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.78, respectively; pint = 0.46), as compared to patients undergoing noncomplex PCI. In conclusion, complex PCI was associated with significantly higher risk of ischemic and bleeding adverse outcomes at 1-year in both HBR and non-HBR patients.
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