BACKGROUND: Coronary artery perforation (CAP) is a potentially lethal complication of percutaneous coronary intervention. We report on the incidence, clinical characteristics, and management of iatrogenic coronary perforations based on an 11-year single-center experience.
METHODS AND RESULTS: From February 9, 2005, through November 20, 2016, 150 CAP cases were identified from our percutaneous coronary intervention database of 21 212 procedures (0.71%). Mean age of CAP patients was 66±11 years, and 62.7% were male. Treated lesion type was B2/C in 94.6%, and 31.3% were chronic total occlusions. Nonworkhorse guidewires were applied in 74.3%. CAP types were Ellis type I in 2.9%, Ellis type II in 40.4%, Ellis type III in 54.8%, and Ellis type III cavity spilling in 1.9%. CAP treatment was conservative (including prolonged balloon inflation) in 73.3%. Covered stents, coiling, and fat embolization were used in 24.0%, 0.7%, and 2.0%, respectively. Pericardiocentesis for tamponade was required for 72 patients (48.0%), of whom 28 were initially unrecognized. Twelve patients (12.7%) required emergency cardiac surgery to alleviate tamponade. Periprocedural myocardial infarction occurred in 34.0%, and in-hospital all-cause mortality was 8.0%. All-cause mortality accrued to 10.7% at 30 days and 17.8% at 1 year.
CONCLUSIONS: CAP is a rare complication of percutaneous coronary intervention, but morbidity and mortality are considerable. Early recognition and adequate management are of paramount importance.

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doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.117.007049, hdl.handle.net/1765/107345
Journal of the American Heart Association
Department of Cardiology

Lemmert, M., van Bommel, R., Diletti, R., Wilschut, J., de Jaegere, P., Zijlstra, F., … van Mieghem, N. (2017). Clinical Characteristics and Management of Coronary Artery Perforations. Journal of the American Heart Association, 6(9). doi:10.1161/JAHA.117.007049