Angiographic Characteristics and Outcomes of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention of Reattempted Chronic Total Occlusion: Potential Contributing Factors to Procedural Success

This study aimed to analyze angiographic characteristics of new attempted percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) on chronic total occlusion (CTO) compared to first attempt group. The cohort of 527 CTO-PCIs was divided into first-attempt and re-attempt groups, and angiographic characteristics, level of complexity, and contributing factors to failure were analyzed. Between-group success rate difference and potential angiographic and technical aspects contributing to the success in new attempts were scrutinized. A total of 47 new PCIs in 39 patients were performed. The reattempt group showed higher J-CTO score compared to the first-attempt group (2.4 ± 1.06 vs. 1.2 ± 1.06; p < 0.001). The use of more complex techniques and devices such as retrograde approach (29.8% vs. 12.9%) and IVUS (48.9 vs. 27.3%; p: 0.002) were more frequent in the reattempt group. Both procedural and fluoroscopy time were higher in the reattempt group (197 ± 83.9 vs. 150.1 ± 72.3 and 97.7 ± 55.4 vs. 68.7 ± 43, respectively; p < 0.001). There was no between-group difference in terms of technical success (79.8 vs. 76.6% for first attempt vs. reattempt group, respectively; p: 0.6). The overall success rate increased by 6.1%, achieving 85.9% in the entire cohort. Reattempted CTO-PCIs required more complex techniques and had comparable technical success rate with regard to the first-attempt group.