Successful revascularization versus medical therapy in diabetic patients with stable right coronary artery chronic total occlusion: a retrospective cohort study

The impacts of percutaneous coronary intervention to treat chronic total occlusion of right coronary artery on the 5-year prognosis: A single-centered retrospective study

BACKGROUND

Chronic total occlusions (CTO) occur in about 20% of patients referred for coronary angiography, and right coronary artery (RCA) CTO has been reported in 38-50% of the entire CTO population. Limited data on angiographic and procedural characteristics of RCA-CTO and the risk of adverse cardiac events asks for a detailed study.

METHODS

From 2010 to 2013, patients with attempted revascularization of at least one CTO lesion were included and followed up to 5 years after PCI. Eligible patients are assigned to RCA-CTO and non-RCA-CTO groups based on their target vessels. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs; a composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction (MI) or rehospitalization for heart failure), and secondary endpoints were cardiac death, target lesion revascularization (TLR) and target vessel revascularization (TVR).

RESULTS

The present study included 2659 eligible patients, among which 1285 patients were assigned to the RCA-CTO group, whereas 1374 patients were assigned to the non-RCA-CTO group. Lesions in RCA had longer lesion length, higher J-CTO score, higher rates of severe vessel tortuosity, a higher percentage of Rentrop grade 2-3, and more likely to be re-try lesion than those in LAD or LCX (all P < 0.01). CTO lesions in RCA reached less successful recanalization and post-procedural TIMI 3 flow (all <0.01). Multivariate Cox analysis revealed that RCA-CTO was not associated with primary outcome MACEs. Besides MACEs, RCA-CTO was also not associated with cardiac death, but was significantly associated with TLR and TVR (adjusted HR: 1.37 [95% CI:1.07-1.76], P = 0.01; adjusted HR: 1.43 [95% CI:1.13-1.82], P = 0.003).

CONCLUSION

RCA-CTO lesions, which had more complex angiographic features, independently contributed to TLR and TVR but not to MACEs or cardiac death in the 5 years of follow-up.

Chronic total occlusions and coronary artery bypass grafting outcomes

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the association between the presence and grafting of chronic total occlusions (CTOs) and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) outcomes.

METHODS

This was a post hoc analysis of the Randomized Endograft vs Open Prospective (REGROUP) trial, which randomized veterans undergoing isolated on-pump CABG to endoscopic versus open vein harvest (2014-2017). Patients were stratified on the basis of the presence of at least 1 CTO vessel (a 100% occluded coronary lesion for greater than or equal to 3 months) and according to whether all CTO vessels were bypassed. Rates of major cardiac adverse events (MACE) were compared.

RESULTS

At least 1 CTO was present in 453 of 1149 patients (39.4%). Over a median follow-up of 4.7 years (interquartile range, 3.84-5.45), MACE rates were 23.4% versus 22.2% for the CTO versus no CTO group, respectively (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.70-1.20). MACE rates for patients with complete CTO grafting versus not were 23.1% versus 25.0%, respectively (aHR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.57-1.57). In patients with right coronary dominance undergoing left anterior descending artery grafting, bypassing a right coronary artery CTO was associated with significantly lower rates of all-cause mortality (aHR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.17-0.83).

CONCLUSIONS

In this REGROUP trial subanalysis, neither CTO presence or complete grafting of CTO vessels was associated with significantly different rates of MACE. However, the finding of possible survival benefit among a subgroup of patients undergoing grafting of a dominant RCA CTO vessel alongside left anterior descending artery grafting warrants additional study.

Revascularization of Occluded Right Coronary Artery and Outcome After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

OBJECTIVES

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the results of isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with or without revascularization of the occluded right coronary artery (RCA).

METHODS

Patients undergoing isolated CABG were included in a prospective European multicenter registry. Outcomes were adjusted for imbalance in preoperative variables with propensity score matching analysis. Late outcomes were evaluated with Kaplan-Meier's method and competing risk analysis.

RESULTS

Out of 2,948 included in this registry, 724 patients had a total occlusion of the RCA and were the subjects of this analysis. Occluded RCA was not revascularized in 251 (34.7%) patients with significant variability between centers. Among 245 propensity score-matched pairs, patients with and without revascularization of occluded RCA had similar early outcomes. The nonrevascularized RCA group had increased rates of 5-year all-cause mortality (17.7 vs. 11.7%, p = 0.039) compared with patients who had their RCA revascularized. The rates of myocardial infarction and repeat revascularization were only numerically increased but contributed to a significantly higher rate of MACCE (24.7 vs. 15.7%, p = 0.020) at 5 year among patients with nonrevascularized RCA.

CONCLUSION

In this multicenter study, one-third of totally occluded RCAs was not revascularized during isolated CABG for multivessel coronary artery disease. Failure to revascularize an occluded RCA in these patients increased the risk of all-cause mortality and MACCEs at 5 years.

Percutaneous coronary intervention improves quality of life of patients with chronic total occlusion and low estimated glomerular filtration rate

Background

A low estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR <90 mL/min/1.73 m²) is widely recognized as a risk factor for major adverse cardiac events (MACE) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for chronic total occlusion (CTO). However, the impact of successful CTO-PCI on quality of life (QOL) of patients with low eGFR remains unknown.

Objectives

The aim of this prospective study was to assess the QOL of CTO patients with low eGFR after successful PCI.

Methods

Consecutive patients undergoing elective CTO-PCI were prospectively enrolled and subdivided into four groups: eGFR ≥90 mL/min/1.73 m² (n = 410), 90 > eGFR ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m² (n = 482), 60 > eGFR ≥ 30 mL/min/1.73 m² (n = 161), and eGFR <30 mL/min/1.73 m² (n = 23). The primary outcomes included QOL, as assessed with the European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D) questionnaire, and symptoms, as assessed with the Rose Dyspnea Scale (RDS) and Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ), at 1 month and 1 year after successful PCI.

Results

With the decline of eGFR, CTO patients were more likely to present with comorbidities of hypertension, diabetes, hyperuricemia, and previous stroke, in addition to lower hemoglobin levels and left ventricular ejection fraction (p < 0.05). Low eGFR was associated with greater incidences of in-hospital pericardiocentesis, major bleeding, acute renal failure, and subcutaneous hematoma, but not in-hospital MACE (p < 0.05). Symptoms of dyspnea and angina were alleviated in all CTO patients with eGFR ≥30 mL/min/1.73 m² at 1 month and 1 year after successful CTO-PCI, but only at 1 month for those with eGFR <30 mL/min/1.73 m² (p < 0.01). Importantly, QOL was markedly improved at 1 month and 1 year after successful PCI (p < 0.01), notably at a similar degree between patients with low eGFR and those with normal eGFR (p > 0.05).

Conclusion

Successful PCI effectively improved symptoms and QOL of CTO patients with low eGFR.

Benefits of successful percutaneous coronary intervention in chronic total occlusion patients with diabetes

BACKGROUND

Diabetes was commonly seen in chronic total occlusion (CTO) patients but data regarding the impact of successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) on clinical outcome of CTO patients with diabetes was controversial. And importantly, no studies have compared quality of life (QOL) after CTO-PCI in patients with and without diabetes.

METHODS

Consecutive patients undergoing elective CTO-PCI were prospectively enrolled from Apr. 2018 to May 2021. Patients were subdivided into 2 groups: Diabetes and No Diabetes. Detailed baseline characteristics, assessment of symptoms and QOL, angiographic and procedural details, in-hospital complications, and 1 month and 1 year follow-up data were collected. These data were analyzed accordingly for risk predictors of clinical outcome in patients who have diabetes and received successful CTO-PCI.

RESULTS

A total of 1076 patients underwent CTO-PCI attempts. Diabetes was present in 374 (34.76%) patients, who had more hypertension, previous PCI and stroke. Regarding the coronary lesions, diabetic patients suffered more LCX lesion, multivessel disease, number of lesions per patient, blunt stump, calcification and higher J-CTO score (p < 0.05). In-hospital major adverse cardiac event (MACE) (4.13% vs. 5.35%; p = 0.362) was similar in the two groups. At 1 month and 1 year follow-up after successful CTO-PCI, the incidence of MACE and all-cause mortality were also similar in the two groups (p > 0.05). Number of lesions per patient was an independent risk factor of MACE and all-cause mortality (p < 0.001) 1 year after successful CTO-PCI. Symptom and QOL were markedly improved regardless of diabetes both at 1 month and 1 year follow-up, and importantly, patients with diabetes showed similar degrees of improvement to those without diabetes (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Successful CTO-PCI could represent an effective strategy improving clinical outcome, symptoms and QOL in CTO patients with diabetes.

5-Year Clinical Outcomes of Successful Recanalisation for Coronary Chronic Total Occlusions in Patients With or Without Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Background: Despite substantial improvement in chronic total occlusions (CTO) revascularization technique, the long-term clinical outcomes in diabetic patients with revascularized CTO remain controversial. Our study aimed to investigate the 5-year cardiovascular survival for patients with or without type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) who underwent successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for CTO. Methods: Data of the current analysis derived from a large single-center, prospective and observational cohort study, including 10,724 patients who underwent PCI in 2013 at Fuwai Hospital. Baseline, angiographic and follow-up data were collected. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE), which consisted of death, recurrent myocardial infarction (MI), stroke and target vessel revascularization (TVR). The secondary endpoint was all-cause mortality. Cox regression analysis and propensity-score matching was performed to balance the baseline confounders. Results: A total of 719 consecutive patients with ≥1 successful CTO-PCI were stratified into diabetic (n = 316, 43.9%) and non-diabetic (n = 403, 56.1%) group. During a median follow-up of 5 years, the risk of MACCE (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.47, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.08-2.00, P = 0.013) was significantly higher in the diabetic group than in the non-diabetic group, whereas the adjusted risk of all-cause mortality (HR 2.37, 95% CI 0.94-5.98, P = 0.068) was similar. In the propensity score matched population, there were no significant differences in the risk of MACCE (HR 1.27, 95% CI 0.92-1.75, P = 0.155) and all-cause mortality (HR 2.56, 95% CI 0.91-7.24, P = 0.076) between groups. Subgroup analysis and stratification analysis revealed consistent effects on 5-year MACCE across various subgroups. Conclusions: In patients who received successful CTO-PCI, non-diabetic patients were related to better long-term survival benefit in terms of MACCE. The risk of 5-year MACCE appeared to be similar in less-controlled and controlled diabetic patients after successful recanalization of CTO. Further randomized studies are warranted to confirm these findings.

Long-term prognosis of chronic total occlusion treated by successful percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with or without diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is highly prevalent among patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for chronic total occlusion (CTO). Therefore, the purpose of our study was to investigate the clinical outcomes of CTO-PCI in patients with or without DM.

Methods

All relevant articles published in electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library) from inception to August 7, 2020 were identified with a comprehensive literature search. Additionally, we defined major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) as the primary endpoint and used risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to express the pooled effects in this meta-analysis.

Results

Eleven studies consisting of 4238 DM patients and 5609 non-DM patients were included in our meta-analysis. For DM patients, successful CTO-PCI was associated with a significantly lower risk of MACEs (RR = 0.67, 95% CI 0.55–0.82, p = 0.0001), all-cause death (RR = 0.46, 95% CI 0.38–0.56, p < 0.00001), and cardiac death (RR = 0.35, 95% CI 0.26–0.48, p < 0.00001) than CTO-medical treatment (MT) alone; however, this does not apply to non-DM patients. Subsequently, the subgroup analysis also obtained consistent conclusions. In addition, our study also revealed that non-DM patients may suffer less risk from MACEs (RR = 1.26, 95% CI 1.02–1.56, p = 0.03) than DM patients after successful CTO-PCI, especially in the subgroup with a follow-up period of less than 3 years (RR = 1.43, 95% CI 1.22–1.67, p < 0.0001).

Conclusions

Compared with CTO-MT alone, successful CTO-PCI was found to be related to a better long-term prognosis in DM patients but not in non-DM patients. However, compared with non-DM patients, the risk of MACEs may be higher in DM patients after successful CTO-PCI in the drug-eluting stent era, especially during a follow-up period shorter than 3 years.

Real-world outcomes of different treatment strategies in patients with diabetes and three-vessel coronary disease: a mean follow-up 6.3 years study from China

BACKGROUND

Patients with diabetes and triple-vessel disease (TVD) are associated with a high risk of events. The choice of treatment strategies remains a subject of discussion. In the real-world, we aim to compare the outcomes of medical therapy (MT), coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) treatment strategies in patients with diabetes and TVD.

METHODS

A total of 3117 consecutive patients with diabetes and TVD were enrolled. The primary endpoint was all-cause death and the secondary endpoint was major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE, composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction, or stroke).

RESULTS

During the mean follow-up of 6.3 ± 2.6 years, 573 (18.4%) deaths and 1094 (35.1%) MACCE occurred. Multivariate analysis showed that PCI (hazard ratio [HR] 0.40, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.32-0.51) and CABG (HR 0.33, 95% CI 0.26-0.44) were associated with a lower risk of death compared with MT, with no difference between the PCI and CABG groups. When MACCE was the endpoint, PCI (HR 0.71, 95% CI 0.60-0.84) and CABG (HR 0.48, 95% CI 0.39-0.57) had a lower risk than MT. CABG was associated with a significantly lower risk of MACCE compared with PCI (HR 0.67, 95% CI 0.55-0.81), which was mainly attributed a lower risk in myocardial infarction, but a higher risk of stroke.

CONCLUSIONS

In this big real-world data and intermediate-term follow-up study, for patients with diabetes and TVD, PCI and CABG were associated with a lower risk of death and MACCE more than MT. The results suggest the importance of appropriate revascularization for diabetic patients with TVD. However, CABG was not associated with a lower risk of death, but with a lower risk of MACCE, compared with PCI. In the future, we perhaps should strengthen comprehensive treatment in addition to PCI or CABG.

Outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention for chronic total occlusions in the elderly: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective

This study aimed to compare outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for chronic total occlusions (CTO) in the elderly (≥75 years) versus nonelderly and assess the impact of successful CTO‐PCI in the elderly.

Methods

PubMed, Embase, ScienceDirect, CENTRAL, and Google Scholar databases were searched up to October 1, 2020. Mortality rates and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) were compared between elderly and nonelderly patients and successful versus failed CTO‐PCI in the elderly.

Results

Eight studies were included. Meta‐analysis indicated no statistically significant difference in the risk of in‐hospital mortality (RR: 1.97 95% CI: 0.78, 4.96 I² = 0% p = .15) but higher tendency of in‐hospital MACE (RR: 2.30 95% CI: 0.99, 5.35 I² = 49% p = .05) in the elderly group. Risk of long‐term mortality (RR: 3.79 95% CI: 2.84, 5.04 I² = 41% p < .00001) and long‐term MACE (RR: 1.53 95% CI: 1.14, 2.04 I² = 80% p = .004) were significantly increased in the elderly versus nonelderly. Elderly patients had a significantly reduced odds of successful PCI as compared to nonelderly patients (OR: 0.63 95% CI: 0.54, 0.73 I² = 1% p < .00001). Successful CTO‐PCI was associated with reduction in long‐term mortality (HR: 0.51 95% CI: 0.34, 0.77 I² = 27% p = .001) and MACE (HR: 0.60 95% CI: 0.37, 0.97 I² = 53% p = .04) as compared to failed PCI in elderly.

Conclusions

Elderly patients may have a tendency of higher in‐hospital MACE with significantly increased long‐term mortality and MACE after CTO‐PCI. The success of PCI is significantly lower in the elderly. In elderly patients with successful PCI, the risk of long‐term mortality and MACE is significantly reduced.

Long term clinical impact of successful recanalization of chronic total occlusion in patients with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus

BACKGROUND

Diabetes mellitus is one of the risk factors for coronary artery disease and frequently associated with multivessels disease and poor clinical outcomes. Long term outcome of successful revascularization of chronic total occlusions (CTO) in diabetes patients remains controversial.

METHODS AND RESULTS

From January 2005 to December 2015, 739 patients who underwent revascularization for CTO in Taipei Veterans General Hospital were included in this study, of which 313 (42%) patients were diabetes patients. Overall successful rate of revascularization was 619 (84%) patients whereas that in diabetics and non-diabetics were 265 (84%) and 354 (83%) respectively. Median follow up was 1095 days (median: 5 years, interquartile range: 1-10 years). During 3 years follow-up period, 59 (10%) in successful group and 18 (15%) patients in failure group died. Although successful revascularization of CTO was non-significantly associated with better outcome in total cohort (hazard ratio (HR): 0.593, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.349-0.008, P: 0.054), it might be associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality (HR: 0.307, 95% CI 0.156-0.604, P: 0.001) and CV mortality (HR: 0.266, 95% CI 0.095-0.748, P: 0.012) in diabetics (P: 0.512). In contrast, successful CTO revascularization didn't improve outcomes in non-diabetics (all P > 0.05). In multivariate cox regression analysis, successful CTO revascularization remained an independent predictor for 3-years survival in diabetic subgroup (HR: 0.289, 95% CI 0.125-0.667, P: 0.004). The multivariate analysis result was similar after propensity score matching (all-cause mortality, HR: 0.348, 95% CI 0.142-0.851, P: 0.021).

CONCLUSIONS

Successful CTO revascularization in diabetes may be related to better long term survival benefit but not in non-diabetic population.

Long-term outcomes of medical therapy versus successful recanalisation for coronary chronic total occlusions in patients with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus

Background

In this study, we compared the outcomes of medical therapy (MT) with successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in chronic total occlusions (CTO) patients with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Methods

A total of 2015 patients with CTOs were stratified. Diabetic patients (n = 755, 37.5%) and non-diabetic patients (n = 1260, 62.5%) were subjected to medical therapy or successful CTO-PCI. We performed a propensity score matching (PSM) to balance the baseline characteristics. A comparison of the major adverse cardiac events (MACE) was done to evaluate long-term outcomes.

Results

The median follow-up duration was 2.6 years. Through multivariate analysis, the incidence of MACE was significantly higher among diabetic patients compared to the non-diabetic patients (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.32, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.09–1.61, p = 0.005). Among the diabetic group, the rate of MACE (adjusted HR 0.61, 95% CI 0.42–0.87, p = 0.006) was significantly lower in the successful CTO-PCI group than in the MT group. Besides, in the non-diabetic group, the prevalence of MACE (adjusted HR 0.85, 95% CI 0.64–1.15, p = 0.294) and cardiac death (adjusted HR 0.94, 95% CI 0.51–1.70, p = 0.825) were comparable between the two groups. Similar results as with the early detection were obtained in propensity-matched diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Notably, there was a significant interaction between diabetic or non-diabetic with the therapeutic strategy on MACE (p for interaction = 0.036).

Conclusions

For treatment of CTO, successful CTO-PCI highly reduces the risk of MACE in diabetic patients when compared with medical therapy. However, this does not apply to non-diabetic patients.

Impact of coronary collateralization on long-term clinical outcomes in type 2 diabetic patients after successful recanalization of chronic total occlusion

Background

To assess the prognostic role of coronary collaterals in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) after successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for chronic total occlusion (CTO).

Methods

Coronary collateralization was graded according to Rentrop scoring system in 198 type 2 diabetic patients and 335 non-diabetics with stable angina undergoing PCI for at least one CTO lesion. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was determined and major adverse cardio-cerebral events (MACCE) were recorded during follow-up.

Results

Poor collateralization was more common in patients with T2DM than in non-diabetics (40% vs 29%, p = 0.008). At 13.5 ± 4.1 months, the rate of composite MACCE (17.3% vs 27.6%, p = 0.034) and repeat revascularization (15.2% vs 25.5%, p = 0.026) was lower and the increase in LVEF (3.10% vs 1.80%, p = 0.024) was greater in patients with good collaterals than in those with poor collaterals for non-diabetic group. The associations were in the same direction for T2DM group (35% vs 44%; 30% vs 36%; 2.14% vs 1.65%, respectively) with a higher all-cause mortality in diabetic patients with poor collaterals (p = 0.034). Multivariable Cox proportional hazards analysis showed that coronary collateralization was an independent factor for time to MACCE (HR 2.155,95% CI 1.290–3.599, p = 0.003) and repeat revascularization (HR 2.326, 95% CI 1.357–3.986, p = 0.002) in non-diabetic patients, but did not enter the model in those with T2DM.

Conclusions

T2DM is associated with reduced coronary collateralization. The effects of the status of coronary collateralization on long-term clinical outcomes and left ventricular function appear to be similar in size in type 2 diabetic patients and non-diabetics after successful recanalization of CTO.