Impact of a dedicated "radial lounge" for percutaneous coronary procedures on same-day discharge rates and bed utilization.

BACKGROUND: Two advantages of transradial coronary procedures are an increased potential for same-day discharge and better resource management. This study assessed the impact of a dedicated "radial lounge" (1) on the rate of same-day discharge after elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary angiography and (2) on bed utilization. METHODS: We compared our unit's rates of same-day discharge in patients who underwent elective PCI or coronary angiography in the year before and in the year after the opening of a dedicated radial lounge for elective patients. RESULTS: In its first year of operation, 439 patients who underwent PCI and 1,109 patients who underwent angiography were managed in the radial lounge. Among these patients, the rate of same-day discharge was 84.7% after PCI and 97.0% after angiography. Requirement for overnight admission was significantly more common after femoral access compared with radial access for both angiography (4.1% vs 2.8%, P < .05) and PCI (20.3% vs 14.2%, P < .01). The unit's overall rate of same-day discharge increased from 2.3% to 51.2% after elective PCI (P < .0005) and from 72.7% to 84.9% after elective angiography (P < .005). An estimated 595 bed days were saved through reduced overnight admissions in elective patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our unit's overall rates of same-day discharge after elective PCI and coronary angiography increased dramatically in the year after the opening of a dedicated radial lounge. This was directly attributable to the high rates of same-day discharge in radial lounge patients. The radial lounge impacted favorably on in-patient bed capacity.