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World J Cardiol. Nov 26, 2026; 18(11): 127774
Published online Nov 26, 2026. doi: 10.4330/wjc.127774
Published online Nov 26, 2026. doi: 10.4330/wjc.127774
Letter to the Editor: Risk-stratified observation windows in outpatient percutaneous coronary intervention
Wei-Cheng Chang, Yu-Ching Chien, Department of Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital Songshan Branch, Taipei 105, Taiwan
Chun-Tsai Tsai, Wei-Chieh Huang, Cardiovascular Center, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan
Wei-Chun Huang, Department of Internal Medicine, Pingtung Christian Hospital, Pingtung County 90059, Taiwan
Gen-Min Lin, Department of Medicine, Hualien Armed Forces General Hospital, Hualien 970, Taiwan
Author contributions: Chang WC and Lin GM conceptualized the commentary and formulated the study design; Chien YC, Tsai CT, Huang WC, and Huang WC performed the literature review and synthesis; Chang WC, Chien YC, and Lin GM drafted the manuscript; Tsai CT and Huang WC contributed to critical intellectual revisions; and all authors gave final approval of the version to be published.
AI contribution statement: During the preparation of this work, the author(s) used Google Gemini Pro for grammar checking and copy editing. After using this tool/service, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full responsibility for the content of the published article.
Supported by Hualien Armed Forces General Hospital, No. HAFGF-D-115004.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Corresponding author: Gen-Min Lin, Director, FACC, FAHA, FESC, Department of Medicine, Hualien Armed Forces General Hospital, No. 163 Jiahua St., Xincheng Township, Hualien 970, Taiwan. farmer507@yahoo.com.tw
Received: September 7, 2026
Revised: October 22, 2026
Accepted: November 5, 2026
Published online: November 26, 2026
Processing time: 69 Days and 5.7 Hours
Revised: October 22, 2026
Accepted: November 5, 2026
Published online: November 26, 2026
Processing time: 69 Days and 5.7 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Same-day discharge after percutaneous coronary intervention commonly relies on a 4-6-hour observation window in uncomplicated elective cohorts, though optimal timing varies according to baseline risk, vascular access, and hemostasis strategy. Recent findings by Klocek et al suggest the feasibility of an ultra-short median observation of 150 minutes. To translate these provocative real-world findings into generalizable clinical practice, we prioritize establishing the operational definition of the observation duration, detailing the discharge-selection criteria, and analyzing risk-stratified outcomes across discrete observation cohorts (< 4 hours, 4-6 hours, and > 6 hours).