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Background Distal transradial access (dTRA), through the anatomical snuffbox (AS) of the hand, is a novel, potentially beneficial, vascular access for patients undergoing coronary procedures. Method Consecutive patients with an indication for coronary angiography and/or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were enrolled in our tertiary center, from November 2018 to March 2019. The success rate of the procedure, the incidence of local complications, the time required for hemostasis, and the incidence of radial artery occlusion (RAO) were evaluated. Results Α total of 167 patients were catheterized through the dTRA (79.6% men, 20.4% women), with a median age of 64 years. The indication for catheterization was ACS in 80 (47.9%) patients, stable coronary artery disease in 51 (30.5%) patients, and other reasons in 36 (21.6%) patients. Fifty patients (32.9%) underwent PCI. Successful sheath insertion was recorded in 152 (91.0%) patients. The mean time to hemostasis after sheath removal was 52 ± 11 min. Vascular access site complications were evaluated with ultrasound in 62 (40.8%) of the enrolled patients, 40 ± 15 days after the procedure. Among them, 2 (3.2%) patients presented with arteriovenous fistula, and 2 (3.2%) patients with local occlusion at the puncture site within the AS and distal to the transverse ligament, with preservation of the patency of the radial artery proximal to the radial styloid process. Conclusion The dTRA may be a feasible and safe access site for diagnostic and interventional coronary procedures, with decreased incidence of RAO and time required for hemostasis compared to classical radial artery access.

Background Radial artery occlusion (RAO) remains the Achilles' heel of transradial coronary procedures. Standard over lower systemic anticoagulation levels are believed to reduce RAO rates but this is ill-supported by scientific evidence. We compared whether standard in comparison with less intensive anticoagulation was superior in preventing vessel closure. Methods and results The two arms of this analysis included 731 pooled patients with the same inclusion and exclusion criteria. We assessed forearm arterial access site occlusion rate by unfractionated heparin (UFH) dose in an individual participant data meta-analysis of this randomized study and of consecutive eligible patients from our previous trial. We randomized 308 consecutive patients undergoing transradial coronary angiography with 5 French (5Fr) catheters without need to crossover to receive 2500 or 5000UFH units. The primary end-point was the ultrasonographically determined vessel occlusion rate. Incident RAOs in the randomized arm were 15.9% vs. 14%, in the low and standard UFH dose, respectively (p=0.7). Corresponding figures for forearm arterial occlusion rates in the pooled population were 13.0% vs. 9.9% (relative risk: 1.3, 95% confidence interval — CI: 0.88–1.98; p=0.2). Procedural and fluoroscopy duration was less than 15 and 3min, respectively. The mean UFH dose difference was 3.52 (95% CI: −0.45 to 7.49) units per kilo body weight between occluded (n=84) and patent forearm arteries (n=647); (p=0.053). Conclusions Incident forearm arterial occlusions were high despite using 5Fr catheters for a short-lasting procedure. Systemic anticoagulation with standard over lower UFH dose did not reduce the frequency of RAOs after coronary angiography.

We present a rare case of a double-chambered right ventricle masquerading as a double-chambered left ventricle, which was found incidentally on cardiac imaging in an adult female patient with atypical chest pain. The most common form of double-chambered right ventricle is characterized by compartmentalization of the right ventricle by muscular bands into 2 distinct chambers. The main features of this malformation are a pressure gradient between the 2 compartments, and the frequent (up to 90%) association with a membranous ventricular septal defect. In our case, the muscular band dividing the right ventricle was located in the inferoseptal part of the latter, creating a diminutive cavity that had no communication with the main right ventricle but communicated with the left ventricle creating the false impression of a double-chambered left ventricle. This constitutes a rare variant of double-chambered right ventricle with unknown clinical implications.

Radial artery occlusion (RAO) remains the "Achilles heel" of transradial coronary procedures. Higher over lower levels of systemic anticoagulation are believed to reduce RAO rates but this is ill-supported by scientific evidence. This was a prospective, randomized, single-center study of parallel