Safety of intracoronary ultrasound: data from a Multicenter European Registry

The clinical use of intracoronary ultrasound imaging is growing, serving as a useful adjuvant to contrast angiography, and providing additional information to assist with catheter-based interventions. Despite the increasing use of this technique, it remains an invasive procedure, the safety of which has not been definitively established. Data from multiple European centers performing intracoronary ultrasound (ICUS) examinations were collected under the auspices of the Subgroup on Intravascular Ultrasound of the Working Group on Echocardiography of the European Society of Cardiology. Information was obtained about the number of examinations performed, complications related to ICUS imaging, and any adverse clinical consequences related to ICUS imaging. Twelve centers submitted information about their experience with ICUS. Eight (1.1%) complications were reported (spasm, vessel dissection, or guide wire entrapment) in a total of 718 examinations. All complications occurred in patients with atherosclerotic coronary disease with a diagnosis of unstable or stable angina who underwent percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. No permanent adverse clinical consequences due to ICUS imaging were reported. There was no difference in frequency of complications between centers, as assessed by chi-square analysis (P = 0.232). These data suggest that ICUS examinations can be performed safely with a very low rate of complications.