Association Between Maximal Activated Clotting Time and Major Bleeding Complications During Transradial and Transfemoral Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

David W. Louis, Kevin Kennedy, Fabio V. Lima, Samir B. Pancholy, J. Dawn Abbott, Paul Gordon, Herbert D. Aronow

This study sought to determine whether higher maximal activated clotting time (ACT) during transradial (TR) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is associated with greater bleeding risk. Higher maximal ACT during transfemoral (TF) PCI has been associated with a greater bleeding risk. It is unclear whether this relationship exists in the setting of TR PCI. Among 14,637 patients undergoing TR or TF PCI with unfractionated heparin monotherapy, the study related maximal ACT to the risk of major bleeding. In secondary analyses, the study related maximal ACT to composites of in-hospital death, myocardial infarction (MI), or stroke and in-hospital death, MI, or urgent target vessel revascularization. Multivariable logistic regression was employed to compare outcomes in the third with the first and second maximal ACT tertiles. More major bleeding occurred at ACT >290 s versus ≤290 s following TF (7.7% vs. 5.8%; p = 0.006) but not TR PCI (1.7% vs. 2.4%; p = 0.18). After adjustment, major bleeding risk remained significantly higher at ACT >290 s versus ACT ≤290 s among TF (odds ratio: 1.28; 95% confidence interval: 1.02 to 1.62; p = 0.036) but not TR PCI (odds ratio: 0.72; 95% confidence interval: 0.42 to 1.22; p = 0.22). Maximal ACT was not related to the incidence of composite death, MI, or stroke or death, MI, or urgent target vessel revascularization following TF or TR PCI. Higher maximal ACT is associated with a greater risk of major bleeding following TF PCI than TR PCI.