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To compare the efficacy of two treatment strategies, Fraction Flow Reserve (FFR) guided coronary intervention and the conventional method (angio- graphic guided only) in treating jailed side branch in patients with coronary bifurcation disease. Efficacy will be determined by clinical outcomes (cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI), target vessel revascularization (TVR) at the 6 months follow-up.

This prospective analytic design study included a total of 26 patients with de novo, coronary bifurcation disease with significant side branch lesions after successful drug eluting stent implantation of the main branch. All patients were recruited between June and December 2011 from Bangkok Metropolitan Administrative Medical College and Vajira Hospital. After main branch stenting we 2:1 randomly assigned patients to undergo side branch intervention guided by angiography alone or FFR measurement. The FFR-guided group only received side branch intervention if the FFR was 0.75 or less.

Of the 26 patients, 8 were randomly assigned to FFR guided PCI and 18 to the conventional (CI) group. The baseline characteristics of the two groups were similar. Similarly, there was no significant difference in the baseline angiographic profiles and procedural characteristics between these two groups. Among the FFR group, 3 patients (37.5%) still had FFR < 0.75 after side-branch kissing balloon so side-branch stenting was performed with provisional T-stent technique in all three patients. In the CI group, 11 patents (61.11%) had side branch stenting with two (18.18%) in culotte technique, four (36.36%) in T stent technique and five (45.46%) in crush technique. At 6 months, one of eighteen patients (5.50%) in the CI group died from frank pulmonary edema and cardiogenic shock. None of the FFR group died during this period. Two (11.10%) in  the CI group had target vessel revascularization from side branch in-stent restenosis. There was no statistical difference in major cardiovascular events (cardiac death, MI, TVR) between the two groups during the 6 month follow-up period (p = 0.08).

FFR guided coronary intervention in patients with bifurcation  lesion may reduce mortality and target vessel revascularization at 6 months and may be considered as a reasonable optional technique.

fractional flow reserve,bifurcation lesion, major cardiovascular events

10.31524/bkkmedj.2015.02.003