Duration of hemostatic compression after coronary angiography or percutaneous co-ronary intervention via the distal radial approach
Objective To explore the optimal duration of hemostatic compression after coronary angiography(CAG)or percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI)via the distal radial approach.Methods Patients undergoing CAG(n=515)or PCI(n=515)were ran-domly assigned to receive hemostatic compression for 2 h,3 h,4 h,5 h,and 6 h respectively,after completion of the procedure.Elastic band was used for hemostasis.The effectiveness(incidence of bleeding and hematoma),safety(incidence of radial artery occlusion,vasovagal reflex,and blister),and patient feelings(pain and forearm swelling)were recorded.Results No patient deve-loped radial artery occlusion and vasovagal reflex.There were no significant differences in incidence of bleeding and hematoma among five groups in either CAG or PCI patients(both P>0.05).Significant differences were seen in the incidence of blister,pain severity and the degree of forearm swelling among five groups in either CAG or PCI patients(all P<0.05),but with no significant differences among 2 h,3 h,and 4 h group(all P>0.05).Conclusion Shorter duration of hemostatic compression alleviates pain and forearm swelling in patients undergoing CAG or PCI through the distal radial artery,without increasing the incidence of com-plications.