Efficacy and safety of sheathless guiding catheter for distal radial approach.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of a sheathless guiding system in patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with distal radial access (DRA).

BACKGROUND: Hyperion™ Sheathless® guiding catheter (Asahi Intecc, Japan), one of the latest 6-Fr guiding systems for transradial PCI characterized by novel outer dilator, is considered to facilitate smooth insertion of the catheter to the artery and may contribute to further reduction of access site complications in DRA.

METHODS: Between October 2018 and January 2023, 286 patients underwent PCI with a Hyperion™ Sheathless® guiding catheter with DRA at two Japanese hospitals. Procedural success, bleeding complications, and radial artery occlusion (RAO) detected by Doppler ultrasonography were assessed.

RESULTS: Mean age of the patients was 72.7 years, and 236 patients (82.5 %) were male. The target lesions were located in the right coronary artery, left anterior descending artery, left circumflex artery, and left main trunk in 81, 44, 50 patients, and 18 patients respectively. Procedural success rate was 99.7 % with no patients requiring conversion to conventional radial access. Two patients presented with a forearm hematoma equivalent to an Early Discharge After Transradial Stenting of Coronary Arteries Study hematoma classification Grade II and 23 with Grade I. No patient presented minor or major bleeding according to the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction bleeding classification. RAO at 30-day follow-up was observed in 6 out of 277 patients (2.2 %).

CONCLUSIONS: 6-Fr sheathless guiding system for PCI via DRA is feasible and associated with a low incidence of access site complications.