Current algorithms for the treatment of chronic coronary total occlusions

Chronic coronary total occlusions (CTOs) represent the most complex group of lesions in interventional cardiology, and technical success in their treatment depends on not only the characteristics of the lesions themselves but also the experience of the operator. Over the past few years, many CTO recanalisation techniques have been proposed, leading to the need for standardisation to achieve a higher success rate. As a result, a number of algorithms that allow the surgeon to choose one or another recanalisation technique depending on the angiographic features of the vessel have been proposed. This article provides an overview of the main algorithms for choosing a CTO recanalisation strategy and considers the clinical and angiographic characteristics that form the basis of the algorithms. The possibility of their use in clinical practice has also been evaluated.