Comparison of Clinical Value between Right Distal Radial Artery Access and Right Radial Artery Access in Patients Undergoing Coronary Angiography or Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Objective: To compare the feasibility and safety between right distal radial artery access and right radial artery access in patients undergoing coronary angiography (CAG) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods: On the basis of arterial access, 113 patients who underwent CAG or PCI in Kunshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine between January and October 2018 were divided into two groups: a right distal radial artery group (52 patients) and a right radial artery group (61 patients). We collected general information, the number of puncture attempts, access times, postoperative compression time, and complications.

Results: The general characteristics, rate of successful radial artery puncture, and rate of successful catheter placement in the two groups were not different. The right radial artery group had fewer puncture attempts (1.26±0.44 times vs. 2.19±0.53 times, P=0.001) and a shorter access time (3.23±0.86 min vs. 4.77±1.49 min, P=0.001) than the right distal radial artery group. However, the postoperative compression time in the right distal radial artery group was shorter (3.44±0.9 h vs. 7.16±1.21 h, P=0.001). Two cases of bleeding, four cases of hematoma, and one case of artery occlusion in the right radial artery group and one case of hematoma in the right distal artery group occurred before discharge. The rate of total complications in the right distal radial artery group was lower than in the right radial artery group (1.93% vs. 11.48%, P=0.048).

Conclusion: CAG or PCI through the right distal radial artery is feasible and safe.