Atherosclerosis affects various vascular beds, such as the coronary and carotid arteries and peripheral vessels, of the lower limbs. Current recommendations for treating multiple vascular beds include targeted catheterization at different intervals and are mainly intended to avoid kidney injury. We examined the efficacy and safety of simultaneous coronary and lower limb catheterization.
This retrospective cohort study included 121 patients who underwent catheterization between January 2008 and December 2016. Patients were divided into four groups: 20 (16.5%) simultaneously underwent coronary and peripheral vascular bed catheterization; 32 (26%) underwent separate procedures (time interval between procedures >2 months); 50 (41%) underwent staged procedure (time interval ≤2 months); and 19 (16%) underwent only peripheral catheterization (single procedure).
No significant between-group differences were observed regarding demographic variables except for sex and diabetes and congestive heart failure incidences. Almost half of all the patients who underwent a single procedure were symptomatic. The successful peripheral catheterization rate was significantly higher in the single procedure group, with no significant difference among the other groups. There were no significant between-group differences with respect to major cardiovascular events, 30-day mortality, mortality within 1 year, and 24-hr vascular complication rate/acute renal failure incidences.
Our study demonstrates the efficacy and safety of concurrent catheterization of coronary arteries and lower limb arteries, regardless of the time interval between these two procedures. Simultaneous catheterization of different vascular beds is an effective, timesaving, and safe option. Our findings should be verified in a large-scale prospective study involving additional vascular beds.

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