Background: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of bifurcation lesion has been associated with a low success rate and a high incidence of procedural complications, including side branch occlusion and myocardial infarction. It remains controversial whether preintervention intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) findings can help to identify side branches likely to occlude after PCI of bifurcation lesions.
Methods and results: From our IVUS database we identified 81 bifurcation lesions in 72 patients. Side branches were classified into 2 groups: group 1 had ostial side branch stenosis due to atherosclerotic plaque only in the main vessel (n=61), and group 2 had plaque truly involved in the side branch ostium (n=20). There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in the extent of ostial stenosis as assessed by angiography. After PCI, 7 side branches occluded in group 2, compared with 5 side branches occluded in group 1 (35% vs 8%, p=0.003).
Conclusion: Ostial plaque distribution as assessed by IVUS may be one of the consistent predictors of side branch occlusion after PCI.