Background: Historically, high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures such as rotational atherectomy (RA) required on-site surgical backup. However, advancements in PCI techniques, coupled with the geographic realities of Australia's dispersed population, warrant a reassessment of RA in the context of contemporary clinical practice.
Aim: We aimed to establish the safety and outcomes after RA at non-surgical centres.
Method: Consecutive RA PCI cases from September 2012 to February 2024 at seven Australian hospitals without on-site cardiac surgery were analysed. Primary outcomes were referrals for emergency cardiac surgery (bailout) and 30-day mortality.
Results: A total of 943 patients (1,010 lesions) were included, with a mean age of 74.4±9.6 years. A total of 72.6% were male and the average body mass index was 28.7±7.1 kg/m2. Common comorbidities included diabetes (35.1%), a history of smoking (48.7%), and acute coronary syndrome or emergency presentation (32.9%). Off-site surgical bailout was necessary for four patients (0.4%) (temporary pacing wire-related right ventricular perforation with tamponade [n=2]; burr entrapment not retrievable percutaneously [n=2]). Major coronary perforations occurred in 0.8% (n=8; Ellis III). Minor perforations occurred in 2.3% (n=22). Tamponade occurred in eight (0.8%) patients. Burr entrapment occurred in six (0.6%) patients. A total of 32 patients (3.4%) died within 30 days of the procedure; 13 cases (1.4%) were PCI-related, but only eight of these (0.8%) were directly attributable to RA (significant ischaemia, e.g., no/slow reflow [n=4]; perforation with tamponade unable to be temporised percutaneously [n=2]; burr entrapment [n=1]; extensive coronary dissection [n=1]). Female sex and acute coronary syndrome presentation were predictors of poorer outcome.
Conclusions: RA can be safely conducted without on-site surgical backup, including in regional Australian areas. In geographically dispersed populations, regional access to RA-assisted PCI is critical. Immediate percutaneous management remains the mainstay of management of rare but potentially severe complications such as tamponade, perforations, and burr entrapment.
Background: Dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) is frequently prescribed to patients with acute coronary syndromes on presentation. If these patients require inpatient surgical revascularisation, current guidelines suggest they await several days' DAPT washout prior to proceeding to operation. However, the rate of non-response to DAPT is significant, and there is minimal research available to assess if patients who are non-responders can safely proceed to surgery without waiting for washout.
Method: A retrospective cohort study of prospectively collected data was undertaken, examining patients who proceeded to surgery before the guideline-recommended washout time compared to those with no DAPT exposure.
Results: One hundred patients had Thromboelastogram (TEG) assessment of response to DAPT. There was a high rate of DAPT non- and low-response, 56% (n=56). Thirty-five non- and low-response patients proceeded to theatre prior to the guideline-recommended waiting time following DAPT. There was no statistically significant increase in bleeding or transfusion requirements (any transfusion, p=0.79), and no difference in morbidity and mortality (p=0.46). Non-responders proceeding early to surgery had a significantly shorter length of stay - non-responder 8.8±3.3 vs no DAPT 10.7±4.7 vs awaited washout 12.1±4.7 days (p<0.01).
Conclusions: There is a high rate of non-/low-response to DAPT, particularly clopidogrel. Non-responder patients do not have significant increase in overall morbidity and mortality, bleeding outcomes or transfusion requirements, and have the advantage of a significantly shorter length of hospital stay.
Aim: Increasing evidence supports the use of fractional flow reserve (FFR) to accurately identify which coronary artery lesions are appropriate for intervention. We aim to describe the use of FFR-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in a large Australian PCI registry.
Method: We assessed data from consecutive patients in the Victorian Cardiac Outcomes Registry from 2014 to 2020 who presented with stable coronary artery disease or non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome and underwent FFR-guided PCI in a single procedure. They were compared with a cohort who underwent standard angiographically guided PCI over the same period.
Results: A total of 59,401 patients were included in the study with 2,455 (4.1%) undergoing FFR-guided PCI. Patients who underwent FFR-guided PCI less often presented with a non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (22% vs 39%, p<0.001), were less probable to have their procedure out of hours (4.8% vs 10.6%, p<0.001), and more probable to have radial access (70% vs 59%, p<0.001). The use of FFR increased over the study period (2.8% of all cases in 2014 vs 4.7% in 2020, p<0.001). FFR-guided PCI was more often performed on the left anterior descending artery (65% of all cases vs 42%, p<0.001). The 30-day mortality was less in the FFR-guided group (0.2% vs 0.6%, p=0.005) but the overall mortality was very low.
Conclusions: This observational study demonstrates that the frequency of use of FFR to guide PCI was low in the Australian context; however, use is increasing. Patients in the FFR-guided group had lower 30-day mortality, although the overall rates of mortality in the study were very low.
Aim: This study aimed to evaluate long-term outcomes of mitral valve surgery for rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in Indigenous Australians, comparing survival and revision rates between valve repair and replacement, and between mechanical and bioprosthetic prostheses.
Method: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 365 consecutive Indigenous Australian patients who underwent mitral valve surgery for RHD at a single tertiary centre from 1992 to 2023. Patients were grouped by procedure type: mitral valve repair, mechanical replacement, or bioprosthetic replacement. The primary outcomes were all-cause mortality and need for revision surgery. Multivariate Cox regression was used to identify independent predictors of outcomes. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis compared event-free survival between groups.
Results: During a mean follow-up of 8.5±6.0 years, 85 patients (23.3%) died and 59 (16.2%) required revision surgery. No significant difference in all-cause mortality was observed between repair and replacement (p=0.70), or between mechanical and bioprosthetic prostheses (p=0.24). Valve repair was associated with a higher unadjusted risk of revision (p=0.01), but this was not significant after adjustment (hazard ratio [HR] 1.41; p=0.30). Bioprosthetic valves were associated with a significantly increased risk of revision compared with mechanical valves (HR 7.22; p<0.001).
Conclusions: In this cohort of young Indigenous Australians with RHD, mitral valve repair and bioprosthetic valves were associated with increased revision rates but showed no survival advantage over mechanical prostheses. These findings support the consideration of mechanical valves in appropriately selected patients to optimise long-term durability.
Background: Postoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is the most prevalent form of secondary AF in older patients, which is likely to recur or even cause persistent AF and may receive long-term clinical treatment in clinically. We aimed to analyse the preoperative and intraoperative risk factors for the recurrence of paroxysmal postoperative AF.
Method: Data were collected from patients who underwent VATS and experienced paroxysmal postoperative AF at Peking Union Medical College Hospital between June 2013 and December 2022. We studied the incidence of AF recurrence within 1 year after initial occurrence and the potential preoperative and intraoperative risk factors using multivariable logistic regression analyses.
Results: Of the 2,920 patients who underwent VATS in this study, 122 (4.2%) suffered paroxysmal postoperative AF within 30 days after surgery. The recurrence incidence of paroxysmal postoperative AF was 21.3% (26 of 122) within 1 year. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that left atrial diameter (odds ratio [OR] 1.13; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.27; p=0.040), left ventricular ejection fraction (OR 0.91; 95% CI 0.83-0.98; p=0.013), and intraoperative hypotension (OR 5.04; 95% CI 1.20-21.69; p=0.025) were significant risk factors for paroxysmal postoperative AF recurrence.
Conclusions: Larger left atrial diameter, lower left ventricular ejection fraction, and intraoperative hypotension may be associated with AF recurrence in older patients with paroxysmal postoperative AF after thoracoscopic surgery. It could be helpful to identify patients at high risk of AF recurrence and advise active monitoring.

