CARDIAC CATHETERIZATION LAB PROCEDURES: SAFE JOURNEY IN SAFE HANDS

Abstract

Objectives: To find out the immediate complications of different procedures performed routinely in cardiac catheterization Lab. Methodology: This cross sectional study was performed in Cardiology Unit of Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar, from 1st January 2015 to 31st December 2015. Patients of either gender were included in the study. Different procedures like coronary angiography, percutaneous coronary intervention and PTMC were performed during the period of the study. All the procedures were done by a single operator after informed consent. Patients less than 20 years were excluded from the study. Complication developed during 24 hr or immediately after or during the procedure were noted. All the data was analyzed on SPSS version 16. Results: This study included 259 patients presented to Cardiology Unit for different cardiac cath procedures. Of them 174 (67.2%) were males. Mean age was 53.06±12.7 years. In these patients coronary angiography was performed in 113 (43.6%) patients, PCI in 120 (46.3%), PTMC in 25(9.7%) and pulmonary angiography in 1 (0.4%) patient. Immediate complications were recorded in 9 (3.6%) while no complication was found in 250 (96.5%) of the procedures performed. Complications like expiry, failure to cross the lesion, failure to deploy stent, ventricular fibrillation, femoral artery dissection, stent damage, and cardiac temponade was found in only a single case each, making about 0.4% each with p value of 0.9. Conclusion: Complications of different procedures performed in Cardiac catheterization Lab of a tertiary care hospital are safe provided performed in experienced hands. Key Words: Coronary Angiography, PCI, PTMC, Cardiac Temponade, Femoral Artery Dissection