Long-term clinical impact of routine follow-up coronary angiography of asymptomatic patients after complex percutaneous coronary intervention in the drug-eluting stent era

Abstract Background Drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation has become the standard for treating coronary artery disease (CAD). While routine follow-up coronary angiography (FUCAG) post-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is not recommended in the 2nd generation DES era, its efficacy and necessity in complex PCI remains unclear. This study aims to investigate the utility of FUCAG after complex PCI. Methods From 2014 to 2020, a study was conducted on patients at our university medical center who underwent complex PCI. Out of a total of 4,098 individuals, after excluding 848 individuals with a follow-up period of less than 4 years and 288 individuals who experienced an event within a year, a total of 2,962 was enrolled. Follow-up coronary angiography (FUCAG) was defined as angiography performed between 6- and 18-months post-index PCI for lesion evaluation. To adjust for any differences in baseline characteristics between the groups, propensity score matching (PSM) was implemented. The primary outcome was defined as Major Adverse Cardiac Events (MACE), comprising all-cause death, myocardial infarction, and target-lesion revascularization. Results PSM was conducted to correct the difference in baseline characteristics between the two groups. In the Kaplan-Meier analysis, there was no difference between FUCAG and clinical follow-up for MACE (Log-rank: P=0.410). Cox proportional regression analysis revealed a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.55 with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.64-1.27, indicating no statistically significant difference. Conclusions In our study, FUCAG did not demonstrate a clinical benefit in patients who underwent complex PCI compared to clinical follow-up. Therefore, clinical follow-up may be considered post-PCI surveillance after complex PCI.