Insights from the FAVOR III China Trial—Coverage of SCAI Scientific Sessions 2025 | SCAI

Why is this study important? 

The FAVOR III China trial was a study of Quantitative Flow Rate (QFR)-guided Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) versus angiography-only guided PCI that randomized 3,825 patients.  

What question is this study supposed to answer? 

This trial evaluated how well each strategy identified flow-limiting disease as assessed by an independent Core lab 

What did the study show? 

The key finding was that angiography alone failed to identify flow-limiting disease in 31% of patients. The presence of disagreement was also found to be clinically relevant, with worse 2-year outcomes in angiography-only patients when there was discordance.  

The trial further supports the concept that QFR-guided PCI more accurately identifies flow-limiting lesions and, importantly, that this is clinically relevant.