Improved Propensity-Score Matched Long-Term Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Successful Percutaneous Coronary Interventions of Coronary Chronic Total Occlusion

The objective of the study was to evaluate major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) after successful versus failed percutaneous coronary intervention for chronic total occlusion (PCI-CTO).Limited data are available on long-term clinical follow-up in the treatment of chronic total occlusion (CTO).Between January 2009 and December 2010 PCI-CTO was attempted in 283 consecutive patients with 289 CTO lesions. Procedural success was 62.3% and clinical follow-up covered 83% (235/283) of the study population with a median follow-up of 66 months (range, 59-74).The total incidence of MACE was 57/235 (24.3%), and was significantly higher in the procedural failure group than in the procedural success group (33/87 (37.9%) versus 24/148 (16.2%), P < 0.001). All-cause mortality was significantly lower in patients with successful PCI-CTO compared to failed PCI-CTO (10.8% versus 20.7%, P < 0.05). Also, the rate of cardiovascular death in the procedural failure group (14.9%) was slightly higher than that in the procedural success group (7.4%, P = 0.066). The rate of TVR was statistically higher in the procedural failure group (P < 0.009). Propensity score-adjusted Cox regression showed that procedural success remained a significant predictor of MACE (adjusted HR 0.402; 95% CI 0.196-0.824; P = 0.013).Our study emphasizes the importance of CTO recanalization in improving long-term outcome including all-cause mortality with a borderline effect on cardiovascular mortality.