Background: The safety and feasibility of same-day discharge percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is still controversial.
Methods: Patients (n = 943) had same-day discharge radial PCI between April 1998 and March 2001 in our hospital. Patients were contacted and asked whether they had entry site complications or a repeat angiogram and/or PCI within 24 hours and 1 month after the procedure.
Results: At the time the study was conducted, 811 patients responded, 38 patients had died, and 94 were alive but refused to participate or it was impossible to contact them; 27 patients (2.8%) visited their doctor and/or the hospital within 24 hours after discharge because of entry site complications, and 38 patients (4.0%) visited within 1 month. However, none of the patients had major access site complications or needed to be admitted to the hospital. Within 24 hours from discharge 17 patients (2%) reported chest pain, and only 1 (0.1%) required a repeat angiogram, which did not show target vessel occlusion. During the first month, 94 patients (11.5%) reported chest pain, 11 (1.3%) underwent a repeat angiogram, out of which 4 had subacute vessel closure; 2 of the 132 patients that we could not contact had subacute stent thrombosis within 1 month and died.
Conclusions: None of the patients having same-day discharge radial PCI had major access site complications. Six patients (0.6%) had subacute vessel closure, but none had this during the first 24 hours after discharge. Same-day discharge radial PCI in certain low-risk patients is a safe and feasible strategy.