Percutaneous coronary intervention versus medical therapy for chronic total coronary occlusions: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised trials.

BACKGROUND: The results of chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention (CTO-PCI) trials are inconclusive. Therefore, we studied whether CTO-PCI leads to improvement of clinical endpoints and patient symptoms when combining all available randomised data. METHODS AND RESULTS: This meta-analysis was registered in PROSPERO prior to starting. We performed a literature search and identified all randomised trials comparing CTO-PCI to optimal medical therapy alone (OMT). A total of five trials were included, comprising 1790 CTO patients, of whom 964 were randomised to PCI and 826 to OMT. The all-cause mortality was comparable between groups at 1­year [risk ratio (RR) 1.70, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.50-5.80, p = 0.40] and at 4­year follow-up (RR 1.14, 95% CI 0.38-3.40, p = 0.81). There was no difference in the incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) between groups at 1 year (RR 0.69, 95% CI 0.36-1.33, p = 0.27) and at 4 years (RR 0.85, 95% CI 0.60-1.22, p = 0.38). Left ventricular function and volumes at follow-up were comparable between groups. However, the PCI group had fewer target lesion revascularisations (RR 0.28, 95% CI 0.15-0.52, p < 0.001) and was more frequently free of angina at 1­year follow-up (RR 0.65, 95% CI 0.50-0.84, p = 0.001), although the scores on the subscales of the Seattle Angina Questionnaire were comparable. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, in this meta-analysis of 1790 CTO patients, CTO-PCI did not lead to an improvement in survival or in MACE as reported at long-term follow-up of up to 4 years, or to improvement of left ventricular function. However, CTO-PCI resulted in less angina and fewer target lesion revascularisations compared to OMT.

Incidence and outcomes of chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention in the Netherlands: data from a nationwide registry.

BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic total coronary occlusions (CTO) are at increased risk for poor clinical outcomes. We aimed to determine the incidence of CTO percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and to identify CTO patients at risk for cardiac events in the nationwide Netherlands Heart Registration (NHR). METHODS: We included all PCI procedures with ≥1 CTO registered in the NHR from January 2015 to December 2018, excluding acute interventions. We used multivariable logistic regression of baseline characteristics to calculate the risk for events as odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: Of the PCIs performed during the study period, 6.3% (8,343/133,042) were for CTOs, with the percentage increasing significantly over time from 5.9% in 2015 to 6.6% in 2018 (p < 0.001). Coronary artery bypass grafting <24 h was carried out in 0.3%, and the only significant predictor was diabetes mellitus (OR 2.97, 95% CI 1.04-8.49, p = 0.042). Myocardial infarction (MI) <30 days occurred in 0.5%, and renal insufficiency (i.e. estimated glomerular filtration rate <30 ml/min per 1.73 m2) was identified as an independent predictor (OR 4.70, 95% CI 1.07-20.61, p = 0.040). Among patients undergoing CTO-PCI, 1­year mortality was 3.7%, and independent predictors included renal insufficiency (OR 5.59, 95% CI 3.25-9.59, p < 0.001), left ventricular ejection fraction <30% (OR 3.43, 95% CI 2.00-5.90, p < 0.001), previous MI (OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.14-2.31, p = 0.007) and age (OR 1.06 per year increment, 95% CI 1.04-1.07, p < 0.001). Target-vessel revascularisation <1 year occurred in 11.3%. CONCLUSION: CTO-PCI is still infrequently performed in the Netherlands. The most important predictor of mortality after CTO-PCI was renal insufficiency. Identification of patients at risk may help improve the prognosis of CTO patients in the future.