title: Five-year experience with transradial coronary angioplasty in ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) via radial approach has been shown to be an alternative to femoral approach in emergency cases; however, its feasibility has been questioned. This single-center study was performed to compare the outcomes and complication rates between transradial (TR) and transfemoral (TF) PCI in ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).
  
  
  METHODS
  The clinical and angiographic data of 582 consecutive STEMI patients treated with PCI between 2001 and 2006 were evaluated in a retrospective study. Forty-three patients were excluded from the present study due to cardiogenic shock or rescue PCI. Patients (n=539) were categorized into the TR group (n=167) or the TF group (n=372), and several parameters were evaluated to assess the advantages and drawbacks of TR access: access-site crossover, rate of access-site complications, procedure time, fluoroscopy time, X-ray area dose, major adverse cardiac events (MACE) at 1 month, and consumption of angioplasty equipment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the TR group, the crossover rate to femoral access was 5%, while in the TF group, it was 0.8% (P<.05). There was a significant difference, in both major and minor access-site complications, between the TR group and the TF group (0% vs. 5%, P<.05, and 4% vs. 9%, P<.05, respectively). Consumption of angioplasty equipment proved to be the same for the two groups. The MACE rate was 4% in the TR group and 11% in the TF group (P<.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that the TR approach is a safe and effective way to treat STEMI; furthermore, site-related complications are less common with this approach.
authors.affiliation: Division of Invasive Cardiology, Second Department of Medicine and Cardiology Center, Medical Faculty, Albert-Szent-Györgyi Clinical Center, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
authors.forename: Zoltán
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ruzsa
authors.forename: Imre
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ungi
authors.forename: Tamás
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Horváth
authors.forename: Róbert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sepp
authors.forename: Zsolt
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
authors.forename: Attila
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thury
authors.forename: Zoltán
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jambrik
authors.forename: Viktor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sasi
authors.forename: Gábor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tóth
authors.forename: Tamás
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Forster
authors.forename: Attila
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nemes