Cost effectiveness of radial access for diagnostic cardiac catheterization and coronary intervention

Abstract

Radial access for CATH and PCI reduced access site complications and overall costs compared to FA procedures with similar baseline clinical and procedural characteristics, making it an economically advantageous strategy.

Hospitalization Costs for Acute Myocardial Infarction Patients Treated With Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in the United States Are Substantially Higher Than Medicare Payments

“…The implications of that meta‐analysis can be considered in light of other recent studies that assess the hospitalization costs of TRPCI vs TFPCI, and have found that TRPCI was associated with lower average total costs of care, primarily driven by reduced length of stay and bleeding complications . Recent work has estimated that TRPCI results in approximately $730 to $800 savings per PCI procedure, which when compared to TFPCI could amount to significant reductions in annual hospitalizations costs . Although the transfemoral approach remains the most commonly used technique, further studies regarding transradial PCI could potentially help with the problem of determining ways of reducing hospitalization costs.…”

Neurologic complications after transradial or transfemoral approach for diagnostic and interventional cardiac catheterization: A propensity score analysis of 16,710 cases from a single centre prospective registry

“…Meanwhile, data is accumulating that reinforces the benefits of the TRA in various clinical settings, including reduced mortality, especially in the high‐risk subset of patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACSs), in which bleeding complications may offset the benefits of both coronary revascularization itself and currently used potent anti‐thrombotic therapy . In addition, the use of the radial artery as the vascular access site has been shown to be associated with lower procedural‐related costs, both early and mid‐term . Finally, the improvements made in vascular access materials and the use of dedicated catheters have also definitely contributed to facilitate TRA adoption, allowing its implementation as the access site of choice, without compromising overall procedural success .…”

A comparison of radial and femoral access for cardiac catheterization

“…Recently, a study was undertaken to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of transitioning a hospital from a "femoral-first" to a "radial-first" approach. Including 1792 patients undergoing TFA propensity-score matched to 1792 patients undergoing TRA, patients who underwent PCI had a cost saving of $732 if the procedure was performed via radial access, with most of the cost saving attributed to decreased access site complications [47]. These data strongly support that TRA is not only cost-effective but also cost saving by avoiding incurred costs of bleeding and vascular complications and reducing length of stay.…”