The Rist radial access system: a multicenter study of 152 patients

Background Transradial access (TRA) for neurointervention is becoming increasingly popular as experience with the technique grows. Despite reasonable efficacy using femoral catheters off-label, conversion to femoral access occurs in approximately 8.6-10.3% of TRA cases, due to an inability of the catheter to track into the vessel of interest, lack of support, or radial artery spasm. Methods This is a multicenter, retrospective case series of patients undergoing neurointerventions using the Rist Radial Access System. We also present our institutional protocol for using the system. Results 152 patients were included in the cohort. The most common procedure was flow diversion (28.3%). The smallest radial diameter utilized was 1.9 mm, and 44.1% were performed without an intermediate catheter. A majority of cases (96.1%) were completed successfully; 3 (1.9%) required conversion to a different radial catheter, 2 (1.3%) required conversion to femoral access, and 1 (0.7%) was aborted. There was 1 (0.7%) minor access site complication and 4 (2.6%) neurological complications. Conclusions The Rist catheter is a safe and effective tool for a wide range of complex neurointerventions, with lower conversion rates than classically reported.