Femoral or Radial Approach in the Treatment of Coronary Chronic Total Occlusion: A Randomized Clinical Trial (FORT CTO TRIAL)

All consecutive patients referred for CTO PCI between August 2017 and July 2021 at Acibadem University Kocaeli Acibadem Hospital, Kocaeli; Erciyes University Medical Faculty, Kayseri; Istanbul University Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Haseki Cardiology Institute; Istanbul; Memorial Bahcelievler Hospital, Istanbul were screened for enrollment in the study. The exclusion criteria included: (a) any acute coronary syndrome within 3 months; (b) severe heart failure issues; (c)severe renal failure (d) failure to provide written informed consent.The radial access group consisted of patients with single or bi-radial approach. Any femoral artery puncture was considered a femoral case. For example, a crossover from any radial to femoral access was considered a femoral case. Procedures were performed by 4 interventional cardiologists, who are dedicated radial operators, at 4 different centers. The protocol was approved by the institutional review board and all patients provided written informed consent.