A New Era for Rotational Atherectomy: An Australian Perspective

Abstract

Background: Rotational atherectomy (RA) has been used in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for 30 years. With advances in technology, this observational study looks at how rates of RA have changed over the past decade in Australia in relation to PCI and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) rates. Methods: Retrospective analysis of RA, PCI, and CABG rates per Australian state from Australian Government Department of Human Services’ data on Medicare items from 2007 to 2017 was carried out. Results: There were 149 RA procedures in 2007, increasing to 452 in 2017. Rotational atherectomy accounted for 0.67% of PCI procedures in 2007, increasing to 1.48% in 2018 (+0.81%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.64%-0.91%]; P