Clinical and Inflammatory Outcomes of Rotational Atherectomy in Calcified Coronary Lesions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objectives: To assess the clinical and inflammatory outcomes of patients with calcified coronary arteries treated with rotational atherectomy (RA), compared to those with other intervention procedures. Methods: We conducted a systematic search of PubMed (Medline) and Embase. This review followed the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines and applied the PICO criteria. Results: A total of 110 articles were analyzed, comprising 2,328,417 patients with moderate to severe coronary calcified lesions treated with RA, conventional percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), or other advanced interventions. The pooled incidence of short- to mid-term major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) was 6% (95% CI 4–7%), increasing to 17% (95% CI 15–21%) at 6 months. Mortality was 2% (95% CI 1–3%) within 6 months, rising to 7% (95% CI 6–9%) thereafter. RA significantly increased the risk of long-term MACEs, mortality, total lesion revascularization (TLR), bleeding, and fluoroscopy time, and was borderline associated with an increased risk of short-term myocardial infarction and a reduced risk of coronary dissection. RA and other invasive procedures showed similar risks for short-term MACEs, mortality, total vascular revascularization (TVR), stent thrombosis, heart failure, stroke, and inflammation. Conclusions: RA is linked to higher long-term risks of MACEs, mortality, TLR, bleeding, and fluoroscopy time compared to other interventions. While RA shows comparable outcomes for short-term MACEs and mortality with other procedures, it may slightly reduce the risk of coronary dissection. These findings underscore the importance of careful patient selection and weighing long-term risks when considering RA for calcified coronary lesions.