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The use of intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) in chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has received limited study.We analyzed the baseline clinical and angiographic characteristics and procedural outcomes of 82 CTO PCIs that required IVL at 14 centers between 2020 and 2022.During the study period, IVL was used in 82 of 3301 (2.5%) CTO PCI procedures (0.4% in 2020 and 7% in 2022; p for trend 0.001). Mean patient age was 69 ± 11 years and 79% were men. The prevalence of hypertension (95%), diabetes mellitus (62%), and prior PCI (61%) was high. The most common target vessel was the right coronary artery (54%), followed by the left circumflex (23%). The mean J-CTO and PROGRESS-CTO scores were 2.8 ± 1.1 and 1.3 ± 1.0, respectively. Antegrade wiring was the final successful crossing strategy in 65% and the retrograde approach was used in 22%. IVL was used in 10% of all heavily calcified lesions and 11% of all balloon undilatable lesions. The 3.5 mm lithotripsy balloon was the most commonly used balloon (28%). The mean number of pulses per lithotripsy run was 33 ± 32 and the median duration of lithotripsy was 80 (interquartile range: 40-103) seconds. Technical and procedural success was achieved in 77 (94%) and 74 (90%) cases, respectively. Two (2.4%) Ellis Class 2 perforations occurred after IVL use and were managed conservatively.IVL is increasingly being used in CTO PCI with encouraging outcomes.

To investigate the perceptions of interventional cardiologists (IC) regarding the frequency, impact, and management strategies of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) complications.The perceptions and management strategies of ICs of PCI complications have received limited study.Online survey on PCI complications: 46 questions were distributed via email lists and Twitter to ICs.Of 11,663 contacts, 821 responded (7% response rate): 60% were from the United States and the median age was 46-50 years. Annual PCI case numbers were100 (26%), 100-199 (37%), 200-299 (21%), and ≥300 (16%); 42% do not perform structural interventions, others reported performing40 (30%), or100 (11%) structural cases annually. On a scale of 0-10, participating ICs were highly concerned about potential complications with a median score of 7.2 (interquartile range: 5.0-8.7). The most feared complication was death (39%), followed by coronary perforation (26%) and stroke (9%). Covered stents were never deployed by 21%, and 32% deployed at least one during the past year; 79% have never used fat to seal perforations; 64% have never used coils for perforations. Complications were attributed to higher patient/angiographic complexity by 68% and seen as opportunities for improvement by 70%; 97% of participants were interested in learning more about the management of PCI complications. The most useful learning methods were meetings (66%), webinars (48%), YouTube (32%), and Twitter (29%).ICs who participated in the survey are highly concerned about complications. Following complication management algorithms and having access to more experienced operators might alleviate stress and optimize patient outcomes.

Background: The impact of occlusion length on the procedural techniques and outcomes of chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has received limited study. Methods: We examined the clinical and angiographic characteristics and procedural outcomes of 10,335 CTO PCIs at 42 US and non-US centers between 2012 and 2022. The cohort was divided into two groups based on lesion length (≥20 mm vs.