Abstract
BACKGROUND: Radial access (RA) may offer advantages in peripheral interventions, but previous studies on this approach have been limited to retrospective or single-center studies. Our aim was to prospectively evaluate the safety and feasibility of RA for complex endovascular lower extremity interventions. METHODS: In this prospective, multicenter, and observational study, eligible patients with peripheral artery disease scheduled for intervention through RA were enrolled. Primary efficacy end point was procedural success, defined as successful completion of the intended procedure without conversion to femoral access and without RA complications periprocedure. Primary safety end point included evaluation of RA-related complications at 30 days. RESULTS: From June 2020 to June 2021, 120 patients at 8 US centers were enrolled. Mean age was 68.7 years, and 31.7% were women. The 224 lesions treated were in iliac (12.9%), femoropopliteal (55.3%), isolated popliteal (11.9%), and tibial (19.5%) vessels. The primary efficacy end point was achieved in 112 (93.3%) patients. One patient (<1%) required femoral access conversion to complete the procedure. Thirty (25.0%) patients required 1 or more additional access to facilitate crossing and/or to complete the planned treatment (5 femoral, 10 tibial, and 17 pedal accesses). No serious adverse events were adjudicated to the procedure. Mean procedure time and time to ambulation was 74 minutes and 3 hours 30 minutes; respectively, with 93.3% same-day discharge. At 30 days, 97.2% of patients recorded ultrasound-confirmed RA patency. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first prospective and multicenter registry to show the safety and efficacy of RA approach for complex endovascular lesions and multilevel disease. RA allowed early ambulation and same-day discharge with no serious adverse events. Future randomized trials should examine the clinical and cost effectiveness of this approach compared with those of femoral access for patients with peripheral artery disease.