When deciding on the optimal revascularization strategy for patients with multivessel coronary disease, a noninvasive approach using quantitative flow ratio (QFR) showed substantial agreement with the more invasive classical fractional flow reserve (FFR) approach in a new study.
The DECISION-QFR study was presented by Taku Asano, MD, St. Luke's International Hospital, Tokyo, Japan, at the Congress of the European Association of Percutaneous Coronary Interventions (EuroPCR) 2022, being held this week in Paris.
"The QFR approach may enhance the practicability of physiology-guided decision-making for the optimal revascularization," he concluded.
Asano explained that patient risk assessment considering coronary anatomy and its physiologic significance, which is represented by the functional SYNTAX score calculated by FFR measurement, demonstrates better capability in predicting outcomes after revascularization in patients with multivessel disease compared to one considering only anatomy. However, an FFR measurement requires an invasive procedure that has a risk of vessel injury and excess procedure time due to pressure-wire manipulation and is uncomfortable for the patient.
The new QFR approach, which is an FFR simulation based on angiographic images, allows estimation of the functional SYNTAX score without use of a pressure wire.
The current DECISION QFR study aimed to investigate the feasibility of using QFR as the physiologic information in a heart team discussion determining an optimal revascularisation strategy for patients with multivessel disease.
