Coronary revascularization vs. medical therapy following coronary-computed tomographic angiography in patients with low-, intermediate- and high-risk coronary artery disease: results from the CONFIRM long-term registry

Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging. 2017 May 1;18(8):841-848. doi: 10.1093/ehjci/jew287.

Abstract

Aims: To identify the effect of early revascularization on 5-year survival in patients with CAD diagnosed by coronary-computed tomographic angiography (CCTA).

Methods and results: We examined 5544 stable patients with suspected CAD undergoing CCTA who were followed a median of 5.5 years in a large international registry. Patients were categorized as having low-, intermediate-, or high-risk CAD based on CCTA findings. Two treatment groups were defined: early revascularization within 90 days of CCTA (n = 1171) and medical therapy (n = 4373). To account for the non-randomized referral to revascularization, we developed a propensity score by logistic regression. This score was incorporated into Cox proportional hazard models to calculate the effect of revascularization on all-cause mortality. Death occurred in 363 (6.6%) patients and was more frequent in medical therapy. In multivariable models, when compared with medical therapy, the mortality benefit of revascularization varied significantly over time and by CAD risk (P for interaction 0.04). In high-risk CAD, revascularization was significantly associated with lower mortality at 1 year (hazard ratio [HR] 0.22, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.11-0.47) and 5 years (HR 0.31, 95% CI 0.18-0.54). For intermediate-risk CAD, revascularization was associated with reduced mortality at 1 year (HR 0.45, 95% CI 0.22-0.93) but not 5 years (HR 0.63, 95% CI 0.33-1.20). For low-risk CAD, there was no survival benefit at either time point.

Conclusions: Early revascularization was associated with reduced 1-year mortality in intermediate- and high-risk CAD detected by CCTA, but this association only persisted for 5-year mortality in high-risk CAD.

Keywords: CAD; coronary-computed tomographic angiography; revascularization.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Evaluation Study

MeSH terms

  • Age Factors
  • Aged
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Cardiotonic Agents / administration & dosage*
  • Cause of Death
  • Computed Tomography Angiography / methods
  • Coronary Angiography / methods*
  • Coronary Artery Disease / diagnostic imaging*
  • Coronary Artery Disease / mortality
  • Coronary Artery Disease / therapy*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Internationality
  • Kaplan-Meier Estimate
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Myocardial Revascularization / methods*
  • Odds Ratio
  • Percutaneous Coronary Intervention / methods
  • Percutaneous Coronary Intervention / mortality
  • Prognosis
  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • Registries*
  • Risk Assessment
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Sex Factors
  • Survival Analysis
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Cardiotonic Agents