Long‐term clinical outcomes in transradial versus transfemoral access for left main percutaneous coronary intervention

Objective The present study compared 10‐year clinical outcomes between transradial access (TRA) and transfemoral access (TFA) for left main (LM) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Background There are limited data regarding the long‐term safety and efficacy of TRA for LM PCI. Methods This retrospective study evaluated consecutive patients who underwent unprotected LM PCI between January 2004 and December 2008 at Fu Wai Hospital. The exclusion criteria were age of less than 18 years and presentation with acute myocardial infarction. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiac or cerebrovascular events (MACCE), which was defined as a composite of all‐cause death, myocardial infarction, stroke, and any revascularization at the 10‐year follow‐up. Results Among 913 eligible patients, TRA was used for 417 patients (45.7%) and TFA was used for 496 patients (54.3%). The 30‐day clinical outcomes were similar between the two groups. Results from the 10‐year follow‐up revealed that MACCE occurred in 180 patients (46.7%) from the TRA group and in 239 patients (51.2%) from the TFA group (log‐rank p = .3). The TRA and TFA groups also had low and comparable cumulative rates of all‐cause death (14.6% vs. 17.3%, log‐rank p = .56) and cardiac death (7.9% vs. 9.1%, log‐rank p = .7). Conclusion The present study revealed no significant differences in long‐term clinical outcomes when TRA or TFA were used for LM PCI.