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Does the operator's sex matter? An analysis based on the national interventional cardiology registry.

BACKGROUND
A small number of female cardiologists work in the interventional cardiology (IC) field. This disparity is observed in most European countries.


AIMS
We present the first national report on the practice patterns and outcomes of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) performed by female operators (FOs) in Poland.


METHODS
Data were collected from the National Registry of Invasive Cardiology Procedures (ORPKI) between January 2014 and December 2017.


RESULTS
A total of 31 (4.1%) FOs performed 12 935 (2.8%) PCIs. The median number of PCIs performed by FOs per year was 75 (interquartile range [IQR]: 43 - 154), whereas that by male operators (MOs) was 139 (IQR: 67 - 216) (P < 0.01). FOs' patients were characterized with a lower prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and previous coronary artery interventions. The main indication for treatment was acute coronary syndrome (74.66%). Compared with MOs, FOs handled significantly more patients with single-vessel disease (87.02% vs 84.72%, P < 0.001). FOs used smaller contrast doses during PCIs (170.36 [77.54] ccm vs 173.48 [77.54] ccm, P < 0.001) but higher radiation exposures (843 [IQR: 472 - 1409] mGy vs 815 [IQR: 458 - 1390] mGy, P = 0.01). There was no difference in clinical outcomes (a composite of all-cause death, bleeding at puncture site, or coronary artery perforation) based on operators' gender.


CONCLUSIONS
Women represent a minority of operators in IC and are responsible for a small percentage of PCIs. Nonetheless, the practice patterns and outcomes of PCIs performed by FOs are comparable with those of male operators.