Safety and feasibility of transradial coronary intervention in Chinese elderly patients

Objective To assess the feasibility and safety of transradial approach in Chinese elderly patients undergoing coronary intervention. Methods In this prospective study, 764 elderly patients with coronary artery disease received percutaneous coronary intervention via either a transradial approach (TRA group) or a transfemoral approach (TFA group). The procedural success rate, success rate of artery access, puncture time, fluoroscopy time, dose of contrast, local complications and post-procedural pulmonary embolism were recorded and compared between 2 groups. Results There was no significant difference of the procedural success rate between the TRA group and the TRF group (96.3% vs. 98.2%, P>0.05); there were also no differences of success rate of cannulation, mean fluoroscopy time and mean dose of contrast between the 2 groups. The mean puncture time was longer in the TRA group than in the TFA group (3.8±2.1 min vs. 2.0±3.4 min, P<0.05). However, there were fewer access site-related complications in the TRA group than in the TFA group. Post-procedural pulmonary embolism occurred in 2 patients in the TFA group but none in the TRA group. Conclusion Transradial coronary intervention was feasible and safe in most Chinese elderly patients when performed by experienced operators.