In-Hospital Costs and Costs of Complications of Chronic Total Occlusion Angioplasty: Insights From the OPEN-CTO Registry

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe the costs of chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and the association of complications during CTO PCI with costs and length of stay (LOS).

Background: CTO PCI generally requires more procedural resources and carries higher risk for complications than PCI of non-CTO vessels. The costs of CTO PCI using the hybrid approach have not been described, and no studies have examined the impact of complications on in-hospital costs and LOS in this population.

Methods: Costs were calculated for 964 patients in the 12-center OPEN-CTO (Outcomes, Patient Health Status, and Efficiency in Chronic Total Occlusion Hybrid Procedures) registry using prospectively collected resource utilization and billing data. Multivariate models were developed to estimate the incremental costs and LOS associated with complications. Attributable costs and LOS were calculated by multiplying the independent cost of each event by its frequency in the population.

Results: Mean costs for the index hospitalization were $17,048 ± 9,904; 14.5% of patients experienced at least 1 complication. Patients with complications had higher mean hospital costs (by $8,603) and LOS (by 1.5 days) than patients without complications. Seven complications were independently associated with increased costs and 6 with LOS; clinically significant perforation and myocardial infarction had the greatest attributable cost per patient. Overall, complications accounted for $911 per patient in hospital costs (5.3% of the total costs) and 0.2 days of additional LOS.

Conclusions: Complications have a significant impact on both LOS and in-hospital costs for patients undergoing CTO PCI. Methods to identify high-risk patients and develop strategies to prevent complications may reduce CTO PCI costs.

Keywords: angioplasty; chronic total occlusion; complications; cost; stable coronary artery disease.