Do hydrophilic guidewires affect the technical success rates of percutaneous angioplasty?

To determine whether the use of hydrophilic guidewires has influenced the success of peripheral percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA), the results of PTA performed before and after the introduction of such guidewires (end of 1989) were analyzed. Before hydrophilic guidewires became generally available, the technical success rates for iliac stenosis PTA were 96%, for femoral stenosis PTA 84%, and for femoral occlusion 78%. After the introduction of hydrophilic guidewires, technical success rates were 100% (NS), 97% (P = 0.018), and 97% (P = 0.011), respectively. A prospective study of 33 patients randomly selected for PTA of femoropopliteal occlusion using either conventional or hydrophilic guidewires was performed. In this group, the technical success rate was 14/15 in the hydrophilic group, and 18/18 in the conventional group (NS). Since the introduction of hydrophilic guidewires, the technical success rates of PTA have improved and are now approaching 100%.