The Feasibility and Long-Term Outcomes of the Crossboss/Stingray for Treating Coronary Chronic Total Occlusions Lesions with Distal Diffuse Disease Landing Zone

Background: The feasibility and long-term outcomes of the CrossBoss/Stingray for treating coronary chronic total occlusions (CTO) with distal diffuse disease landing zone remain unclear. Methods: Consecutive CTO patients with distal diffuse lesions that underwent percutaneous coronary intervention by the CrossBoss/Stingray system at Xijing Hospital from April 2016 to October 2020, were included. Patients were analyzed by two groups according to the extent of stenosis in the distal landing zone: 50%–70% stenosis (moderate stenosis group) and >70% stenosis (severe stenosis group). The primary efficacy outcome was technical success, defined as the frequency of true lumen guidewire placement distal to the CTO. The composite endpoint of all-cause death, any stroke, or any revascularization was also explored. Results: A total of 91 consecutive patients were included, with 32 patients in the moderate stenosis group and 59 patients in the severe stenosis group. The mean J-CTO score was 2.5 ± 1.1. The technical success rate was 79.1% (72/91) in the overall population and was similar between the 2 groups: 78.1% (25/32) and 79.7% (47/59) (p = 0.608). No coronary perforation occurred. With a median follow-up of 29 months (IQR: 53–92), the estimated rate of the composite endpoint of all-cause death, any stroke, or any revascularization was 50.4% (all-cause death: 16.6%, any stroke: 1.1%, any revascularization: 36.5%) in the overall population. No significant difference was observed in the rate of the composite endpoint between the moderate stenosis group and the severe stenosis group (45.1% vs. 54.3%, respectively, p = 0.797). Conclusions: In CTO lesions with distal diffuse disease landing zone, the technical success rates of CrossBoss/Stingray and the long-term clinical outcomes were not significantly different between the moderate stenosis group (50%–70%) and the severe stenosis group (>70%). However, the relatively high rate of long-term clinical outcomes, especially any revascularization, warrants further investigations on this indication in future studies.