Effect of Radial-to-Femoral Access Crossover on Adverse Outcomes in Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

• Radial access (RA) can be attempted in 80% of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction.
• RA is successfully secured in 90% of the cases when it is attempted.
• RA failure is associated with small delays that do not affect outcomes.
• Killip class IV, resuscitation before arrival, and impaired renal function predict RA failure.

We aimed to describe the impact of the vascular access used when patients are treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) and to assess whether this translates into differences in angiographic outcomes. Patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction who underwent PPCI were divided into 3 groups: successful radial access (RA), successful femoral access (FA), and Crossover (failed RA with need for bailout FA) groups. Vascular access–related time (VART) was defined as the delay in PPCI that can be attributed to vascular access–related issues. Study end point was the final corrected Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction frame count. Multivariable analysis was used to identify predictors of RA failure (RAF: FA + Crossover). We included 241 patients (RA, n = 172; FA, n = 49; Crossover, n = 20). Mean VART was longer in Crossover (10.3 [8.8 to 12.4] minutes), relative to RA (4.1 [3.2 to 5.5] minutes) and FA (4.6 [3.4 to 8.4] minutes, p <0.001). A similar situation was found for time-to-first device (Crossover 22.5 [20.3 to 32.0], RA 15.0 [12.0 to 19.8]; FA 17.9 [13.5 to 22.3] minutes, p <0.001) and total procedure time (Crossover 60.3 [51.6 to 71.5], RA 46.8 [38.1 to 59.7], FA 52.3 [41.9 to 74.7] minutes, p <0.001). No differences in corrected Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction frame count were observed (Crossover 26 [18 to 32] frames, RA 24 [18 to 32] frames, FA 25 [16 to 34] frames, p = 0.625). Killip class IV (odds ratio [OR] 3.628, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.098 to 11.981, p = 0.035), cardiopulmonary resuscitation before arrival (OR 3.572, 95% CI 1.028 to 12.407, p = 0.045), and glomerular filtration rate (OR 0.861, 95% CI 0.758 to 0.978, p = 0.021) were independent predictors of RA failure. In conclusion, in the setting of PPCI, radial-to-FA crossover can lead to VART delays that do not affect angiographic outcomes, in comparison with successful RA.