Comparing distal and proximal radial access for percutaneous coronary intervention and angiography: a comprehensive meta-analysis and systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Distal radial access (DRA) through the anatomical snuff-box is a novel technique for coronary procedures. Emerging evidence suggests that DRA is associated with a lower risk of certain complications compared to proximal radial access (PRA).

Methods: A systematic review was conducted to compare clinical and procedural outcomes between both access sites for coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention. We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, and Scopus to identify relevant randomized controlled trials.

Results: We included 23 randomized controlled trials enrolling 10 062 patients (DRA group: 5042; PRA group: 5020) in this review. DRA was associated with a lower risk for radial artery occlusion (RAO) at the longest reported follow-up [risk ratio (RR): 0.30, P < 0.00001], in-hospital RAO (RR: 0.28, P < 0.00001), any bleeding (RR: 0.40, P = 0.04), hand clumsiness (RR: 0.05, P < 0.00001), and shorter time to hemostasis [mean difference (MD): -40.93, P < 0.00001]. However, DRA showed a higher access failure rate (RR = 2.64, P < 0.00001), longer access time (MD = 0.77, P < 0.00001), more puncture attempts (MD: 0.60, P < 0.0001), and greater access-related pain [standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.23, P = 0.02]. Both approaches were comparable in terms of major adverse cardiac events (RR = 0.74, P = 0.60), and hand function (SMD = -0.05, P = 0.68).

Conclusion: DRA is a safe alternative to PRA for coronary procedures, with a lower risk of complications, including RAO. However, it is limited by access-related challenges.