Objective: This is a retrospective study on Pharmacomechanical Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis (PCDT) in the treatment of acute iliofemoral Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT).
Patients and methods: From March 2013 to November 2016, 22 patients (26 limbs), median age 46.7 years with acute (<21 days) extensive iliofemoral DVT underwent Percutaneous Mechanical Thrombectomy (PMT) with Aspirex (Straub Medical, Wangs, Switzerland), followed by Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis (CDT). Subsequent endovascular stenting was performed for underlying obstruction. The follow-ups were conducted up to 1 year, in two Centers by experienced operators. Post-Thrombotic Syndrome (PTS) was evaluated by assessing the Villalta Scale (VS) and measuring orthostatic venous pressure.
Results: Post-operative iliofemoral vein patency was restored in almost all cases (95.5%). Standard urokinase dose was 80.000 IU per hour; mean infusion time was 32.5 hours. Stenting was performed in 15 cases (68%). Median follow-up was 19.9 months (6-48 months); 21/22 patients completed the 12 months follow-up. At 30 days follow-up symptoms disappeared in 21/22 cases (95.5%), with one case (4.5%) of DVT recurrence. At 1-year follow-up there were 3 cases (14.2%) of mild PTS; 18 patients (85.8%) were free from PTS. At 1-year follow-up venous pressure measurement showed normal values in 11 cases (52.4%), mild hypertension in 7 patients (33.3%), moderate hypertension (80-100 mmHg) in 2 cases (9.5%) and severe hypertension (110 mmHg) in one case (4.8%). Neither major nor minor complications were observed.
Conclusions: PMT with Aspirex combined with CDT with urokinase seems to be a safe and effective treatment for acute iliofemoral DVT and it shows promising results in reducing the risk of PTS. Thus, we suggest a controlled trial with this treatment strategy.