Donor artery in coronary total occlusion recanalization: QFR versus FFR

Abstract

To the Editor, Revascularization of a coronary chronic total occlusion (CTO) is indicated in patients with refractory angina, after treatment of non-CTO lesion.1 Observational studies have suggested that when intermediate stenosis is present in an artery providing collaterals to a CTO (“donor artery”), its fractional flow reserve (FFR) value increases after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of the CTO.2 Quantitative flow ratio (QFR) has demonstrated excellent correlation with FFR in several settings.3,4 The purpose of this study was to determine the ability of QFR to predict the severity of intermediate lesions in donor arteries as compared to its value after CTO-PCI and, also, as compared to FFR. A retrospective analysis of a prospective registry was performed. Patients who underwent successful CTO-PCI and had a concomitant intermediate stenosis (between 30% to 70% on visual estimation) in...