Operator volume and outcomes of primary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction in a single high-volume centre.

Objective: The guidelines for the management of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) state the minimum operator volume for percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs), without strong evidence of a relationship between operator volume and outcomes of primary angioplasty, at variance with elective practice. We sought to investigate the effect of operator volume on primary PCI for STEMI.

Methods: Three hundred and thirty-one consecutive STEMI patients were treated over 19 months with primary PCI in a high-volume centre without on-site cardiac surgery.

Ad hoc transradial coronary angioplasty strategy: experience and results in a single centre.

Background: The combination of diagnostic and angioplasty as a single procedure is becoming common practice in many institutions, but the feasibility of this strategy performed with the transradial approach in a large group of patients has not been evaluated. This study was performed to explore the feasibility, safety and cost-effectiveness of the transradial approach as a single procedure for diagnostic angiography and angioplasty, including stent implantation.

Methods: From February 1999 and November 2000 the percutaneous transradial approach was attempted in 800 patients with functional radial arch attested using Allen's test.

[Primary angioplasty in acute myocardial infarction: experience and results in the first 1,000 consecutive patients].

Background: One of the biggest debates in modern cardiology regards the relative merit of primary percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) versus thrombolysis for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction with persistent ST-segment elevation. After the excellent results with primary PTCA in trials and meta-analyses, the next question is whether such results might be duplicated in "real world" conditions.

Methods: Between January 1995 and April 2003, 1000 consecutive patients with acute myocardial infarction, out of 2272 (44%) with ST-segment elevation admitted to the coronary care unit at the Cardiology Department of the S.

Transradial approach for renal percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting: a feasibility pilot study.

Background: Stent implantation of renal stenosis (RS) has been reported on extensively; this technique is perceived as superior to balloon angioplasty alone and less invasive than surgical revascularization. With the development of new accessories and stents, we can now improve and optimize procedural and clinical results. In this pilot study, we tested an alternative minimally invasive approach for renal stenting: the transradial artery catheterization (TAC) and a 6 French (Fr) system for stenting.