Safety and feasibility of transradial approach for coronary bypass graft angiography and intervention

The transradial approach (TRA) is commonly applied for coronary catheterization. However, there are few reports on the safety and feasibility of transradial catheterization in patients with prior coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. We retrospectively evaluated 124 consecutive patients who underwent graft angiography and intervention via the transradial (TRA group, n = 68) or transfemoral approach (TFA group, n = 56). The baseline clinical characteristics between the 2 groups were similar except for prior myocardial infarction. No significant difference (P > .05)was observed in procedure time, the success rate of puncture, angiography, and intervention procedure between the 2 groups. There was no significant difference in major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events during hospitalization. However, the vascular access site complications were significantly lower (P = .021) and the duration of hospitalization was shorter (P = .007) in the TRA group. The TRA for coronary bypass graft angiography and intervention was safe and feasible.