Incidence, treatment, and in-hospital outcome of bifurcation lesions in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions for chronic total occlusions

BACKGROUND: Bifurcation lesions represent a distinct lesion subset associated with an increased risk of procedural complications. Data on the incidence, treatment, and outcome of bifurcation lesions associated with chronic total occlusions are limited. METHODS: Among chronic total occlusion procedures performed by a single experienced operator, patients with a bifurcation lesion within the chronic total occlusion vessel and a side branch reference diameter greater than or equal to 2.0mm were enrolled. RESULTS: A total of 905 patients (mean age 61.1±9.5 years, men 89.4%) were treated for 922 chronic total occlusion lesions. Among these, 244 bifurcation lesions were observed (26.5%). The procedural time was significantly longer in bifurcation lesions (139±67 vs. 124±68min; P=0.003), with greater use of contrast load (470±193 vs. 436±227ml; P=0.04) and higher number of stents (3.1±1.5 vs. 2.9±1.4; P=0.035). Overall, an angiographic success was achieved in 91.1% of cases with a higher rate in nonbifurcation lesions (92.5 vs. 87.3%; P=0.04). Coronary perforations were more often observed in bifurcation lesions (4.9 vs. 1.7%; P<0.001), resulting in more tamponades (2.4 vs. 0.2%; P<0.001). True bifurcations were encountered in the majority of cases (86.8%) and required more two-stent techniques than false bifurcations (50 vs. 18.8%; P=0.001). CONCLUSION: The incidence of bifurcation lesions in chronic total occlusions is higher than that reported in continuous lesions. The presence of a bifurcation lesion increases the complexity of the procedure and may lead to less angiographic success and more periprocedural complications.