CLINICAL AND ANGIOGRAPHIC RECURRENCE FOLLOWING PTCA FOR NONACUTE TOTAL OCCLUSIONS - COMPARISON OF ONE-MINUTE VERSUS 5-MINUTE INFLATIONS

To assess potential efficacy of longer inflations to reduce restenosis, 49 patients with nonacute total occlusions were randomized into two groups after successful guide wire passage across the occlusive stenosis. Twenty-one group I patients had all inflations < 1 minute, while 28 group II patients received at least one inflation of 5 minutes' duration. There was no significant difference between group I and group II patients in mean age (56 ± 3 versus 57 ± 2 years), percent male sex (76% versus 68%), or frequency of left anterior descending (LAD) percutaneous transluminal coronary angloplasty (PTCA) (33% versus 32%), p = NS for all. All lesions post PTCA were ≤50% stenosed and no patient had coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). Mean post PTCA stenosis was 29 ± 2% for group I versus 33 ± 2% for group II, p = NS. Clinical follow-up was available for all patients 8 ± 0.6 months after PTCA. Recurrent symptoms were present in 8 of 21 (38%) group I patients compared with 12 of 28 (43%) patients in group II, p = NS. Angiographic follow-up was available in 32 patients (65%), with confirmation of restenosis in seven (33%) group I patients and in 11 (39%) group II patients, p = NS. In conclusion, this prospective study suggests that recurrence rates following successful PTCA of nonacute total occlusions is not modified by 5-minute versus 1-minute inflations. © 1990.