The first year of the Venlo percutaneous coronary intervention program: procedural and 6-month clinical outcomes

OBJECTIVES Analysis of the first results of off-site percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) and fractional flow reserve (FFR) measurements at VieCuri Medical Centre for Northern Limburg in Venlo. BACKGROUND Off-site PCI is accepted in the European and American Cardiac Guidelines as the need for PCI increases and it has been proven to be a safe treatment option for acute coronary syndrome. METHODS Retrospective cohort study reporting characteristics, PCI and FFR specifications, complications and 6-month follow-up for all consecutive patients from the beginning of off-site PCI in Venlo until July 2012. If possible, the data were compared with those of Medical Centre Alkmaar, the first off-site PCI centre in the Netherlands. RESULTS Of the 333 patients, 19 (5.7 %) had a procedural complication. At 6 months, a major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) occurred in 43 (13.1 %) patients. There were no deaths or emergency surgery related to the PCI or FFR procedures. There was no significant difference in occurrence of a MACE or adverse cerebral event between the Alkmaar and Venlo population in the 30-day follow-up. CONCLUSION This study demonstrates off-site PCI at VieCuri Venlo to have a high success rate. Furthermore, there was a low complication rate, low MACE and no procedure-related mortality.