The success rate of distal transradial access on invasive cardiology procedures: the first Indonesian experience

Background: Distal transradial access (dTRA) in invasive cardiology procedures is becoming popular. It has greater potential and benefits than conventional transradial access (TRA) and transfemoral access (TFA) to reduce the risk of post-procedure complications and provide comfort to the patient and operator. This advantage is obtained from the distal radial artery located in the anatomical snuffbox that is more distal and superficial to bony foundation bearing, and anastomoses create the palmar arch. In Indonesia, the first invasive cardiology procedure using dTRA was performed at Hasan Sadikin Hospital. Aim: This study aims to determine the success rate of the distal radial artery access in invasive cardiology procedures at Hasan Sadikin General Hospital (RSHS). Methods: A quantitative study has been performed using 105 medical records of participants who had undergone invasive cardiology procedures via dTRA at RSHS from July 2017 to March 2020. Result: The study shows 97 patients successfully performed cannulation and sheath insertion, and 87 patients completed the procedure via dTRA. Conversion to other access was 13.33% and most of them were converted to TFA. A small number of post-procedure complications occurred in 3 patients (2.86%). There were no post-procedure complications such as major bleeding, radial artery occlusion and arteriovenous fistula. Conclusion: The tremendous success rate and the minimum vascular complications of dTRA in RSHS proved that dTRA is safe and feasible to be performed as the first choice on invasive cardiology procedures for Indonesian.