Interventional cardiology in Poland in 2021. Annual summary report of the Association of Cardiovascular Interventions of the Polish Cardiac Society (AISN PTK) and Jagiellonian University Medical College

This paper presents the analysis of individual procedural data from 155 interventional cardiology centres in Poland, which reported their procedures to the National Registry of Procedures of Invasive Cardiology (ORPKI) database in 2021. With regard to NFZ data, we estimate that over 90% of all interventional cardiology procedures in Poland are reported to ORPKI by these centres.
The 2020 report from the ORPKI database has confirmed the heavy burden of the COVID-19 pandemic on interventional cardiology procedures in Poland [1–3]. The ORPKI database is endorsed by Association of Cardiovascular Interventions of the Polish Cardiac Society (AISN PTK) and is operated daily by the Jagiellonian University Medical College, currently with 155 interventional cardiology centres in Poland reporting. On 31 December 2021 there were 588 PCI operators certified by AISN PTK in Poland.
According to the current analysis of the ORPKI database, in comparison to 2020, there was a substantial (10%) increase in the total number of coronary angiography (CAG) procedures in Poland in 2021 [1]. There were 144,316 CAGs, which corresponds to 3840 per million inhabitants per year in 2021. The distribution of primary diagnoses as indications for CAG was: 8% ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), 13% non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), 18% UA, and 61% stable angina (a significant (16%) decrease in ACS domination in comparison to 2020). The radial approach was utilized in 90% of all CAG cases, which is a 1% increase in comparison to 2020. Complications of coronary angiography in 2021 were rare and corresponded to the rates reported in previous years (Table I). The total number of PCI procedures was 88,052, which and is 7% higher (2346 percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) per million inhabitants per year) than the rate reported in the ORPKI database from 2020. Most of the procedures were done in the setting of acute coronary syndromes (ACS): 38% acute myocardial infarction (19% STEMI and 19% NSTEMI), 24% unstable angina, and the remaining 38% for stable angina. The number of primary PCI per million inhabitants per year is currently 453. There were 16,988 PCIs in STEMI (no change as of 2020) and 16,826 in NSTEMI (a slight decrease). Drug-eluting stents (DES) are used in 99.9% of all cases, which corresponds to 95,413 stents. Rotablation was used in 1327 procedures, which is a 32% increase in comparison to 2020 (1.5% of all PCIs). Aspiration...


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