Purpose: To report midterm outcomes after subintimal vs intraluminal drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation for femoropopliteal (FP) chronic total occlusion (CTO). Methods: This subanalysis of the prospective, multicenter ZEPHYR study (ZilvEr PTX for tHe Femoral ArterY and Proximal Popliteal ArteRy) included 176 patients (mean age 74±8 years; 130 men) with 192 de novo FP CTOs that were evaluated by intravascular ultrasound after successful guidewire crossing. The primary outcome was the 2-year restenosis rate after subintimal (n=73) or intraluminal (n=119) DES implantation. Propensity score matching extracted 61 matched pairs (mean age 75 years; 49 men) for patency analysis to minimize baseline intergroup differences. Restenosis rates are reported with the 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: The 1-year restenosis rates in the groups with subintimal and intraluminal DES implantation were 45% (95% CI 32% to 59%) and 35% (95% CI 22% to 49%), respectively (p=0.352), whereas the corresponding rates at 2 years were not significantly different (p=0.648) at 56% (95% CI 41% to 71%) and 51% (95% CI 34% to 68%). Baseline characteristics had no significant interaction effect on the association of subintimal angioplasty with restenosis risk. Conclusion: In FP CTO, 2-year restenosis rates were comparable after subintimal or intraluminal DES implantation.
How to Deal with CTO: Subintimal Angioplasty
