CORONARY INTERVENTIONS ON LEFT MAIN CORONARY ARTERY — SHORT-TERM RESULTS OF ROUTINE CLINICAL PRACTICE

Summary. Left main (LM) coronary artery lesions occurring in 4.8-9 % of patients on coronary angiography, represent a serious clinical problem with a quite aggressive revascularization strategy. Despite the growing evidence of the efficacy and safety of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) on LM, coronary bypass surgery remains the dominant method of revascularization in many hospitals. Material and methods. The authors presented short-term results of LM PCI in 66 consecutive patients in one center. Results. LM PCI accounted for 4.9 % of the total number of percutaneous coronary interventions. 67.2 % of PCI were performed by radial access, two-stent strategies were used in 10.8 %, mechanical circulatory support — in 7.5 %, and intracoronary imaging – in 1.5 % of cases. Hospital mortality was 4.5 %, the complications rate — 13.6 %. There was no significant difference in access, technical aspects of the procedure, the number of complications and mortality rate between elective patients and patients with an acute coronary syndrome. Conlusion. LM PCI can be performed routinely in experienced coronary programs with acceptable short-term outcomes. Additional efforts are needed from the hospital administrations and professional societies to increase the use of coronary imaging in order to improve the long-term outcomes of LM PCI.