Percutaneous induced thrombosis of iatrogenic femoral pseudoaneurysms following catheterization

Interventional treatment of arterial injury during blind central venous catheterisation in the upper thorax: experience from two centres

AIM

To evaluate the safety and clinical efficacy of interventional treatment for arterial injury during blind, central venous catheterisation in the upper thorax at two tertiary medical centres.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Eighteen consecutive patients (37-81 years; M:F=8:10) who underwent interventional treatment for the arterial injuries that occurred during central venous catheterisation without any imaging guidance between November 2007 and December 2018 were included. Clinical data, angiographic findings, detailed interventional procedures, and technical and clinical outcomes were analysed retrospectively.

RESULTS

Arterial injury sites were the subclavian artery/branches (n=12), axillary artery/branches (n=2), and common carotid artery (n=4). The target vein was not correlated with the corresponding artery/branches in eight patients (44.4%); internal jugular vein to subclavian artery branches. Angiographic findings were pseudoaneurysm (66.7%, 12/18), contrast medium extravasation (22.2%, 4/18), or both (11.1%, n=2). A stent graft was inserted for the main trunk injuries in nine patients, with (n=2) or without (n=7) prior arterial branch embolisation to prevent potential endoleak, while embolisation for the arterial branch injuries was performed in nine patients. Direct percutaneous access with thrombin injection to the pseudoaneurysm or residual arteriovenous fistula was utilised in two. The technical and clinical success rate was 94.4% (17/18) each. There were no procedure-related complications. In one patient without immediate clinical success, there was a persistent pseudoaneurysm after stent graft placement, which was treated with in-stent balloon dilation.

CONCLUSION

Interventional treatment serves as a safe and effective treatment modality for inadvertent arterial injury related to blind, central venous access catheterisation in the upper thorax.

Selective use of Duplex Ultrasound after Successful Thrombin Injection of Pseudoaneurysms

Introduction

Duplex-guided thrombin injection (DGTI) has been shown to be a safe and efficacious initial treatment of iatrogenic arterial pseudoaneurysms. Postinjection follow-up duplex ultrasound examination has become the accepted standard of care despite 1) the use of intraprocedural ultrasonography to monitor successful thrombosis, 2) a low post-DGTI recurrence rate, and 3) the relatively high cost of ultrasonography. A retrospective study of DGTI at our institution was conducted to examine the necessity of routine duplex ultrasound after successful DGTI, along with a review of the relevant literature.

Patient Population/Methods

A retrospective review was conducted of 82 patients with iatrogenic arterial pseudoaneurysms (12 complex; 25.6%) treated with DGTI after initial diagnostic duplex ultrasonography. Immediate routine follow-up duplex ultrasound was performed on 71 of 82 cases (86.6%), whereas 11 patients received only clinical follow-up at the surgeon's discretion. Patient demographics, pseudoaneurysm anatomy, procedural details, outcomes, and complications were retrospectively documented and analyzed.

Results

From January 2002 to November 2003, 82 patients (59.8% women) underwent DGTI for pseudoaneurysm, with the majority located in the common femoral artery (48 of 82; 58.5%). Eighty pseudoaneurysms (97.6%) were treated with DGTI, with 78 (95.1%) being initially successful. Four of 78 (5%) follow-up examinations were judged to be of clinical significance: 2 of 78 patients (2.6%) became symptomatic and experienced pseudoaneurysm recurrence, whereas 2 of 78 patients were found to have an additional, previously undocumented, pseudoaneurysm. Three of these four resolved with a second injection, whereas one resolved without additional treatment. No thromboembolic, allergic, or infectious complications related to DGTI occurred.

Conclusions

In concert with the available literature, this cohort confirms that DGTI is a safe and effective treatment of iatrogenic arterial pseudoaneurysms with a low rate of recurrence, complication, and need for conversion to surgical intervention. DGTI should undoubtedly be the initial treatment of choice for pseudoaneurysms; however, follow-up duplex ultrasonography can be reserved for the clinically symptomatic patient.

Treatment of Iatrogenic Femoral Pseudoaneurysm by Ultrasound-Guided Compression Therapy and Thrombin Injection

Development of an arterial pseudoaneurysm is a common complication following cardiac catheterization. We analyzed data from 6300 patients who received left heart catheterization at our institution. One day after the procedure, approximately 10% of the patients were examined with duplex sonography. In 204 patients (3.0%), a pseudoaneurysm of the femoral artery was diagnosed. All patients underwent compression therapy. Thereby, 159 of the pseudoaneurysms could be treated successfully. The remaining 45 pseudoaneurysms had a maximal diameter of more than 1.5 cm. Forty-two patients underwent ultrasound and biopsy-line—guided thrombin injection without complications. This strategy resulted in a successful occlusion in 41 cases. Pseudoaneurysms smaller than 2 cm can be treated with compression therapy. Larger pseudoaneurysms can be occluded by thrombin injection using ultrasound guidance. Patients with a pseudoaneurysm with a wide “neck” should be treated surgically, because the risk of an arterial occlusion following thrombin injection cannot be excluded.

Femoral Pseudoaneurysms

Iatrogenic pseudoaneurysms will continue to be a problem associated with arterial cannulation procedures. With the increasing trend toward minimally invasive procedures, vascular surgeons, as well as interventionalists will be performing more cannulation procedures; hence we will be more involved in the management of this complication more frequently. Treatment trends and efforts aimed at preventing iatrogenic pseudoaneurysms have evolved over the past decade. This article reviews the history and available literature on the subject, in conjunction with the experience of a center that performs over 10,000 cannulation procedures annually.

Coil embolization of traumatic pseudoaneurysm of right internal thoracic artery

Traumatic injury to the chest and internal thoracic artery is a perplexing problem that is difficult to diagnose and open to different treatment options. Internal thoracic artery pseudoaneurysms are an extremely rare vascular abnormality. We report the case of a patient with a pseudoaneurysm of the musculophrenic artery, a branch of right internal thoracic artery, caused by a penetrating injury of the chest.

Expect the unexpected: acute and subacute coronary stent thrombosis following percutaneous thrombin injection for treatment of femoral pseudoaneurysm

Ultrasonographically guided percutaneous thrombin injection is the treatment of choice for iatrogenic femoral pseudoaneurysms, which mostly result from catheterization procedures. This is the first time, to our knowledge, that acute and subacute coronary stent thrombosis after percutaneous thrombin injection has been reported. This method should be reserved for selected patients, and special consideration should be given to patients with a history of recent acute coronary syndrome and stent implantation.

Percutaneous Thrombin Injection for Treatment of Iatrogenic Femoral Artery Pseudoaneurysms: A Case for Caution

The case of a patient who developed a femoral artery pseudoaneurysm following cardiac catheterization is described. After 2 failed attempts of ultrasound-guided compression repair, the patient underwent percutaneous thrombin injection with, beside of complete closure of the pseudoaneurysm, a severe limb ischemia due to distal thrombin migration with consecutive clot formation finally resulting in thigh amputation of the affected leg. Indications, advantages, and disadvantages of various options for the treatment of iatrogenic femoral artery pseudoaneurysms (vascular surgery, ultrasound-guided compression, percutaneous thrombin injection, and other nonsurgical treatment modalities), as well as risk factors for distal migration of liquid thrombin after percutaneous injection, are discussed in this report.

Location of femoral artery puncture site and the risk of postcatheterization pseudoaneurysm formation

Iatrogenic causes constitute increasingly frequent sources of pseudoaneurysms due to endovascular interventions. However, till now, all analyses focused on evaluating different risk factors contributing to the development of pseudoaneurysm, overlooking the issue of localization of femoral puncture. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of position of femoral artery puncture on the risk of pseudoaneurysm formation. 116 patients were evaluated for the site of catheter insertion into femoral arteries. Another group of 273 patients, suspected of vascular complications after endovascular procedures, were diagnosed with pseudoaneurysms which were analyzed for the location of arterial wall disruption. Puncture sites of groin arteries, i.e. EIA (2.7%), CFA (77.5%), SFA and DFA (19.8%), correlated with pseudoaneurysm location reaching 7.6% (EIA), 54.3% (CFA) and 38.1% (SFA, DFA). Type of procedure influenced these values. Duplex ultrasound mapping of CFA before the endovascular intervention eliminated discrepancies between the incidence of pseudoaneurysm formation and the frequency of arterial puncture in the selected vascular segments. Pseudoaneurysms formed in 4.5% of patients undergoing traditional palpation-guided vessel cannulation and in 2.6% of patients after ultrasound-guided puncture of the femoral artery. Upon further analysis, we concluded that the likelihood of the development of pseudoaneurysm depends on the artery punctured in the groin. This risk increases dramatically for external iliac artery, superficial and deep femoral arteries. A simple means of prevention of this dangerous complication of femoral artery puncture is duplex ultrasound mapping of the groin arteries.

Reducing duplex examinations in patients with iatrogenic pseudoaneurysms

OBJECTIVE

Ultrasound-guided thrombin injection has become the initial treatment of choice for femoral access-related pseudoaneurysms. Patients typically undergo serial duplex examinations to assess for spontaneous resolution of small iatrogenic pseudoaneurysms (IPSAs) (<2.5 cm), or may require repeated diagnostic, therapeutic, and follow-up studies for larger IPSAs (>2.5 cm). We evaluated the impact of a revised treatment algorithm that includes primary treatment of both small (<2.5 cm) and larger pseudoaneurysms (>2.5 cm), rather than observation of smaller ones, and attempts to establish a single duplex examination via a point-of-care treatment strategy.

METHODS

We reviewed 105 consecutive patients treated with ultrasound-guided thrombin injection from July 2001 through September 2004. Patient, IPSAs, characteristics, and treatment methods were examined. The number of duplex examinations per patient was evaluated over the treatment interval. Also, published cost data were used to compare primary treatment of small ISPAs vs observation with serial duplex examinations.

RESULTS

Successful thrombosis occurred in 103 (98.1%) of 105 treated pseudoaneurysms. No minor or major complications occurred after thrombin injection in either small or large ISPAs, and both failures requiring operation were in the large aneurysm group. The recurrence rate for the series was 1.9% (2/105), and both recurrences were successfully treated with an additional thrombin injection. A single injection was successful in treating 43 (97.7%) of 44 small (<2.5 cm) IPSAs, and one required a second injection. Patients had an average of 3.3 duplex examinations in our first year of treatment experience, which declined to 1.5 by our third year with the institution of a point-of-care service model for all pseudoaneurysms. Based on this decreased use of duplex examination and an average treatment cohort of 35 IPSA patients per year our institution, we determined this results in a reduction of 35 hours of laboratory time and nearly 70 ultrasounds per year. Similarly for small pseudoaneurysms, a point-of-service primary treatment program rather than observation results in an estimated cost savings of $12,000, based on treating 15 small IPSAs per year.

CONCLUSIONS

Ultrasound-guided thrombin injection is safe and effective for the treatment of nearly all iatrogenic pseudoaneurysms. We recommend primary treatment of small pseudoaneurysms by ultrasound-guided thrombin injection rather than observation with serial duplex scans. A point-of-care treatment algorithm can result in cost savings by reducing the number of necessary duplex examinations.

Experiência inicial com o uso de adesivo tissular contendo trombina para tratamento do pseudo-aneurisma femoral

O pseudo-aneurisma (PSA) após cateterização femoral tem sido diagnosticado com regularidade em serviços com grande movimento de intervenções percutâneas, com incidência variando de 0,05 a 6%. PSA femorais pequenos podem ser acompanhados até a resolução espontânea. As opções de tratamento são: compressão guiada por ultra-som, injeção de trombina para trombose do PSA e tratamento cirúrgico. A injeção percutânea de trombina tem a vantagem de ser um procedimento indolor e rápido. Podem ser utilizados trombina isolada ou preparados contendo trombina associada a fibrinogênio e fatores de coagulação. A experiência inicial dos autores de cinco casos tratados com injeção de adesivo tissular contendo trombina mostrou resultado satisfatório em quatro; um caso necessitou tratamento cirúrgico. Não houve sucesso com uso isolado de trombina humana, porém, ocorreu trombose imediata após injeção de preparado de trombina associada a fibrinogênio/fator XIII. Neste artigo, são discutidas as opções de tratamento dos PSA femorais e a técnica do uso de trombina percutânea.

Human thrombin for treatment of pseudoaneurysms: comparison of bovine and human thrombin sonogram-guided injection

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this research was to review our experience and determine the success rate of percutaneous sonogram-guided human thrombin injection to treat iatrogenic femoral pseudoaneurysms and compare this with the results obtained with bovine thrombin injection.

CONCLUSION

In our experience, the use of human thrombin for the treatment of iatrogenic femoral pseudoaneurysms is highly efficient (100%), the administered dose is significantly less than with bovine thrombin, and the risk for allergy is potentially lower. At our hospital, human thrombin has replaced bovine thrombin and is the first line of treatment for an iatrogenic pseudoaneurysm.

[Treatment of postcatheterization femoral false aneurysms]

The incidence of iatrogenic femoral false aneurysms has risen dramatically in recent years and is estimated at 0,5% for diagnostic procedures and may rise to 9% or more for therapeutic procedures. This increased incidence is related to the increased number of arterial punctures performed for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes and their major complexity and duration. Risk factors for the development of iatrogenic false aneurysms include operator inexperience, age greater than 60, female gender, catheter size greater than 8F and concurrent anticoagulation. Prevention of false aneurysms is based upon an atraumatic arterial puncture, good compression therapy after sheath removal and use of percutaneous arterial closure devices. Contrarily to the arterial lesions following severe injuries, the natural course of false aneurysms is quite benign with spontaneous occlusion in the majority of cases. Therefore, a mandatory surgical approach is no longer advocated and alternative therapeutic options have been proposed. These include sonographic surveillance, compression ultrasonography, percutaneous thrombin or coil embolization. Surgery is still clearly indicated in presence of local nervous or venous compression, associated homolateral lower limb ischemia, great size of the aneurysm, and unsuccessful non-invasive treatment. Sonographic surveillance has shown to be safe in hospitalized or ambulatory patients. However, fear of aneurysm rupture and cost of repeated ultrasonographic exams preclude widespread utilisation. Compression ultrasonography is safe and effectiveness varies between 70 and 100%, according to studies. Compression ultrasonography may be painful, has often to be associated with mild analgesia, is time consuming and less effective in presence of concurrent anticoagulation. Thrombin injection seems particularly effective, is painless and has a limited rate of complications in expert hands. Severe anaphylactic reactions and severe coagulopathy in reexposed patients have been described and represent clear contra-indications to thrombin injection. Coil embolization of the false aneurysm is as effective as thrombin injection and is reported in a limited number of patients. There is no formal consensus about treatment of the vast majority of non-surgical false aneurysms. In an absence of stringent indication to surgical approach, compression ultrasonography may be used first as it is widely available, and does not require highly specialized skills. Compression therapy should be done after a transient interruption of anticoagulant treatment, if allowed by clinical context. If compression therapy fails, percutaneous injection of thrombin or coil embolization are effective and associated with a low complication rate. However, these techniques are less widely available and necessitate an experienced operator. As recurrences have been described with each of these techniques, every non-surgically-treated false aneurysm should be monitored for 24 hour with ultrasonography control to ensure effective thrombosis.

Occlusion of pseudoaneurysms using human or bovine thrombin using contrast-enhanced ultrasound guidance

Percutaneous thrombin occlusion of pseudoaneurysms complicating invasive coronary interventions has emerged as a useful therapeutic tool. To facilitate thrombin occlusion and make the procedure even more secure, preinjection of echo contrast medium during duplex ultrasound was tested in 132 patients. Complete and immediate occlusion of the pseudoaneurysm was achieved in 99.2% (131 of 132 patients). No complications related to the injection of thrombin were documented. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound-guided thrombin occlusion was a safe and effective therapeutic option. In aneurysms with complex morphology or multiple cavities, preinjection of contrast medium was helpful for documenting the flow pattern.

Femoral Artery Pseudoaneurysms: Risk Factors, Prevalence, and Treatment Options

Femoral artery pseudoaneurysms (PSA or false aneurysm) develop in about 1% of patients undergoing procedures that require femoral artery cannulation. PSA prolong hospitalization, consuming health-care resources, and result in significant morbidity. We designed a study to review the prevalence, risk factors, and treatment of PSA. We performed a retrospective, case-controlled study of patients diagnosed with PSA at a large, urban, tertiary-care teaching hospital. We reviewed 48 patients with PSA for our study. The estimated prevalence of PSA was 0.28%, with identical rates found for procedures done in the interventional radiology department and in the cardiac catheterization suite. Logistic regression identified three independent risk factors for developing PSA: being female (odds ratio 2.62), having an intervention performed (odds ratio 3.22), and not having a closure device used (odds ratio 10.2). Patients with PSA had longer hospital length of stay than that of patients without PSA. We found no statistically significant difference in failure or complication rates for the four treatment options and that spontaneous resolution of PSA does not correlate with its size. Thrombin injection and observation are effective, low-complication treatment options.

[Usefulness of sonographically guided thrombin injection of iatrogenic femoral pseudoaneurysms]

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

In december 2000, we began to treat iatrogenic femoral pseudoaneurysms with direct thrombin injection under sonographic guidance after failed sonographically guided compression repair. Our purpose was to determine the success and complications rate of this technique.

PATIENTS AND METHOD

We treated 50 patients who had iatrogenic femoral pseudoanerysms using direct thrombin injection. A 22-gauge spinal needle was placed into the psudoaneurysm lumen with sonographic guidance, and bovine thrombin (mean dose, 1200 units; range 200-7000 units) was injected under continous color Doppler sonographic visualization. Patient demographics clinical variables, and pseudoaneurysms characteristics were collected.

RESULTS

The overall success rate was 98% (49/50). 30 patiens only required one thrombin injection, with mean thrombosis time of 4 s. When more than one injection was required the mean thrombosis time increased to 9,5 s. There was correlation between thrombosis time and the pseudoaneurysm size (p < 0.005); and between pseudoaneurysm size and the dose of thrombin used. No mayor sedation was needed and no recurrent pseudoaneurysms were observed. With the exception of a mild local eritema in one patient no complications were found.

CONCLUSION

The thrombin injection under sonographic guidance is a quick, effective and secure method of therapy for the treatment of iatrogenic femoral pseudoaneurysms. Failures and complications are infrequents. At our hospital sonographically guided thrombin injection had replaced compression repair.

Thrombin injection for treatment of false aneurysms after failed compression therapy in patients on full-dose antiplatelet and heparin therapy

The aim of this study was to gauge the effectiveness of thrombin injection after failed manual compression in patients with false aneurysms receiving full-dose antiplatelet and heparin therapy. In consecutive patients with failed manual compression therapy (ultrasound-guided manual compression, compression bandage, or both), thrombin was injected under ultrasound guidance. In 23 patients, thrombin was injected into the false aneurysm (100-2,000 units; mean, 895 +/- 520 units). All patients were on aspirin (median dose, 100 mg/day), clopidogrel (median dose, 75 mg/day), and either heparin (n = 3) with a partial thromboplastin time (PTT) > 55 sec or weight-adjusted enoxaparine (0.1 ml per 10 kg; maximum, 1 ml/b.i.d.). Twelve patients had received an i.v. GB IIIb/IIa antagonist 11-72 hr prior to diagnosis of the aneurysm. The mean width of the false aneurysms was 20.8 +/- 3.2 mm (range, 8.0-52.0 mm), length 29.7 +/- 32.6 mm (range, 9.0-147 mm), and depth 19 +/- 9.1 mm (range, 5.1-35.5 mm). Thrombosis after thrombin injection occurred in 21 patients within seconds. One patient required a second injection the next day, one patient underwent surgery. Overall success rate was 96%. No in-hospital complications occurred. In patients with false aneurysms and failed compression therapy under full-dose aspirin, clopidogrel, and heparin, selective thrombin injection is highly effective and safe.

Femoral pseudoaneurysms: management with percutaneous thrombin injections--success rates and effects on systemic coagulation

PURPOSE

To determine the success rate of percutaneous ultrasonographically (US) guided thrombin injection in the treatment of femoral pseudoaneurysms and to evaluate the effects of thrombin injection on systemic coagulation parameters.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fifty femoral pseudoaneurysms (37 simple pseudoaneurysms with one lobe and 13 complex pseudoaneurysms with two or three lobes) were treated with US-guided percutaneous thrombin injections. Pseudoaneurysm size, neck length and width, thrombin dose, outcome of therapy, and complications were documented prospectively. Duplex sonographic follow-up examinations were performed at 12-24 hours and 5-7 and 21-25 days. In 25 patients, activated thromboplastin time, Quick test (prothrombin time), thrombin time, fibrinogen, D-dimer, antithrombin III, thrombin-antithrombin III complex, and prothrombin fragments 1 and 2 were determined before and at 2, 5, and 10 minutes after thrombin injection. Differences in results before and those after thrombin injection were evaluated by means of the one-sample t test.

RESULTS

Mean volume of pseudoaneurysms was 5.84 cm(3) +/- 4.89 (SD). Fifty-eight thrombin injections were performed. Mean thrombin dose was 357 IU +/- 291 in simple and 638 IU +/- 549 in complex pseudoaneurysms. Primary success rate was 36 of 37 (97%) for simple and eight of 13 (61%) for complex pseudoaneurysms. Reperfusion occurred in four complex pseudoaneurysms (none in simple ones). Secondary success rate was 100%. No thromboembolic, infectious, or allergic complications occurred. During follow-up, reperfusion was detected in one patient with a complex pseudoaneurysm. Levels of thrombin-antithrombin III complex increased significantly (P <.05) after thrombin injection, whereas changes in all other laboratory tests were not significant.

CONCLUSION

US-guided percutaneous injection of thrombin is successful and safe in the management of femoral pseudoaneurysms. The increase of thrombin-antithrombin III complex indicates the possibility of thrombin passage into the arterial circulation.

Treatment of iatrogenic femoral artery false aneurysms with ultrasound-guided thrombin injection

The aim of this paper is to review our results of treating iatrogenic pseudoaneurysms of the femoral artery with ultrasound-guided thrombin injection. A retrospective review was carried out of all patients referred for this procedure over a 1-year period from December 1999 to December 2000. Forty-five patients were referred and, of these, 44 were eligible for this treatment, with 300-2500 units of thrombin being injected directly into the false aneurysms under ultrasound guidance. The procedure was well tolerated with no patients requiring sedation or analgesia. There was a primary success rate of 95%, although in four of the patients, there was recurrence on repeat ultrasound performed 2-5 days post-procedure and a second injection of thrombin was required for permanent thrombosis to be achieved. No complications relating to the procedure occurred. Our results confirm increasing evidence in the published research that thrombin injection of femoral artery false aneurysms is a safe and effective treatment.

Ipsilateral femoral vein compression: a contraindication to thrombin injection of femoral pseudoaneurysms

Development of a femoral artery pseudoaneurysm occurs in 0.6% to 3.2% of interventional procedures. Nonsurgical treatment has consisted of ultrasound scan-directed compression and, more recently, direct thrombin injection into the pseudoaneurysm cavity to achieve thrombosis. Reported complications after thrombin injection are rare. We report two cases of femoral venous compression associated with pseudoaneurysm injection and review the literature. A 76-year-old man and an 86-year-old man both underwent thrombin injection of pseudoaneurysms compressing the ipsilateral common femoral vein. Both patients were diagnosed with deep venous thrombosis and subsequently needed surgical exploration for repair of the pseudoaneurysm and release of the venous compression. At exploration, both were found to have significant inflammation surrounding the femoral vessels, which made vessel exposure challenging. Because of the venous outflow obstruction involved in femoral pseudoaneurysms with secondary venous compression and the surgical difficulty caused by surrounding inflammation, avoidance of thrombin injection in favor of early surgical intervention is suggested.

Lumbar artery pseudoaneurysm following renal biopsy: treatment with ultrasound-guided thrombin injection

latrogenic pseudoaneurysms are usually seen following arterial catheterization. However, we describe a case of a 23-year-old woman who developed a pseudoaneurysm of a lumbar artery following renal biopsy. In view of her progressing renal failure, arterial embolization was felt to be inappropriate, and although the pseudoaneurysm could be seen ultrasonically, guided compression could not be applied because of the location of the aneurysm deep to the lumbar musculature. Hence, the pseudoaneurysm was thrombosed by percutaneous ultrasound-guided injection of thrombin directly into the pseudoaneurysm sac. This resulted in immediate thrombosis of the aneurysm and no recurrence on follow-up imaging. Thrombin injection for femoral artery pseudoaneurysms following catheterization is becoming more widely accepted, and our case demonstrates that this technique might be applied to pseudoaneurysms elsewhere in the body.

Ultrasound-guided thrombin injection of iatrogenic pseudoaneurysm at a community hospital

The purpose of this study was to report the success rate of treating pseudoaneurysm using ultrasound-guided thrombin injection at a community hospital. Over 16-month period, 42 patients with femoral artery pseudoaneurysms were treated using ultrasound-guided thrombin injection. Our results showed that ultrasound-guided thrombin injection has a high success rate, and can be safely performed at a community hospital.

Therapeutic thrombin injection of pseudoaneurysms: a multicenter experience

The standard non-invasive treatment of pseudoaneurysms has been ultrasound-guided compression (UGC). Problems with UGC include pain at the site of compression, long compression times and incomplete closure. Each of these difficulties is exacerbated with large pseudoaneurysms. Recently, ultrasound-guided injection of pseudoaneurysms with thrombin has gained popularity. The goal of this study was to report a multicenter registry using this technique and in so doing detail the clinical utility and safety of this emerging procedure. The medical records of all patients diagnosed with pseudoaneurysm in the vascular laboratory who underwent thrombin injection over the past year were reviewed for patient characteristics and clinical outcome. There were 91 patients (55 male) with a mean age of 69 years. Three patients also had an arteriovenous fistula. The majority of patients were receiving one or more antiplatelet agents and/or anticoagulants. All patients underwent pseudoaneurysm injection with bovine thrombin. The mean aneurysm diameter was 3.3 cm, with a range of 1.5-6.3 cm. Successful thrombosis of the pseudoaneurysm was achieved in 89/91 (98%) of cases. Anticoagulation with heparin was used in one of the unsuccessful cases. In two cases, UGC was used to close a small active region that did not completely thrombose after thrombin injection. There were two patients who had recurrence of pseudoaneurysm the day after successful injection and thrombosis of the pseudoaneurysm. There were no local complications after injection; however, one patient suffered a pulmonary embolus that was thought to be unrelated to the procedure. In conclusion, thrombin injection for the treatment of pseudoaneurysms is safe and effective, even in patients receiving anticoagulation. This procedure should be considered as the initial therapeutic approach for peripheral pseudoaneurysms.

Sonographically guided thrombin injection of iatrogenic femoral pseudoaneurysms: further experience of a single institution

OBJECTIVE

In September 1998, we began to treat iatrogenic femoral pseudoaneurysms with direct thrombin injection under sonographic guidance. Our purpose was to determine the success and complication rate of this technique.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

We treated 114 consecutive patients who had iatrogenic femoral pseudoaneurysms using direct thrombin injection. A 22-gauge spinal needle was placed into the pseudoaneurysm lumen with sonographic guidance, and bovine or human thrombin (mean dose, 306 U; range, 50--1600 U) was injected under continuous color Doppler sonographic visualization. Distal pulses were monitored. Patient demographics, clinical variables, and pseudoaneurysm characteristics were collected.

RESULTS

One hundred three (90%) of 114 patients had pseudoaneurysm thrombosis after the first procedure. Of the remaining 11 patients who required a second procedure 1 day later, thrombosis occurred in seven (64%) of 11. Thus, the overall success rate was 96% (110/114). Of the patients who required one injection, the mean thrombosis time was 12 sec (range, 3--90 sec). Three (3%) of 114 patients required conscious sedation. Of the patients with successful thrombosis, 24-hr follow-up sonograms showed no recurrent pseudoaneurysm. Four patients (4%) had potential complications: a "blue toe" 15 hr after the thrombin injection that resolved spontaneously, a groin abscess, leg ischemia that resolved spontaneously after 4 hr, and crampy buttock pain that resolved spontaneously.

CONCLUSION

For the treatment of iatrogenic femoral pseudoaneurysms, thrombin injection under sonographic guidance is a quick and effective method of therapy. Failures and complications are infrequent. At our institution, sonographically guided thrombin injection has replaced compression repair.

Femoral artery thrombosis after percutaneous thrombin injection of an external iliac artery pseudoaneurysm

Ultrasound-guided percutaneous thrombin injection has been developed as a less invasive and highly successful treatment of iatrogenic femoral pseudoaneurysms. Most of these lesions have been the result of catheterization procedures. This method has proved to be highly effective, and few complications have been reported. Specifically, native arterial thrombosis, although recognized as a severe complication, has been mentioned only briefly in the literature. We present a case of the successful management of native arterial thrombosis after attempted percutaneous thrombin injection of a chronic external iliac artery pseudoaneurysm. This case serves to illustrate the risk factors for this complication and the treatment options once it occurs. The success of this treatment with acute iatrogenic femoral pseudoaneurysms may not necessarily translate into similar success in other anatomic locations and clinical situations.

Thromboembolism complicating thrombin injection of femoral artery pseudoaneurysm: management with intraarterial thrombolysis

Ultrasound (US)-guided compression of pseudoaneurysms is being rapidly replaced by US-guided percutaneous treatment with thrombin injection because of the less intensive nature of this procedure. Thromboembolism after percutaneous treatment with thrombin injection is rare and has been described in brachial artery pseudoaneurysms. These were managed with intravenous administration of heparin and surgical thrombectomy. In this report, the authors describe thromboembolic complication of thrombin injection after treatment of a femoral artery pseudoaneurysm. This was managed by intraarterial thrombolysis with use of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) with resolution of all major occlusive changes. A lower dose of thrombin injection and frequent postprocedural monitoring of distal pulses is recommended.

Femoral pseudoaneurysm thrombinjection

BACKGROUND

The risk of pseudoaneurysm (PSA) increases with the number of catheterizations performed for cardiovascular diagnosis and therapy. Thrombin injection, or "thrombinjection," is an alternative to ultrasound-guided compression or surgical repair. Thrombinjection is effective and economical, but the specter of systemic arterial thrombosis hinders its wide application. We report cautionary steps taken prior to injection and lessons learned during our first 20 cases.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Thrombinjection was performed under ultrasound (US) guidance in 12 women and 8 men with PSA after femoral catheterization. PSA varied in size from 17 to 39 mm with neck openings from 1.5 to 3.9 mm. Under local anesthesia and US longitudinal view, a 20-gauge US needle tip was placed in the PSA away from the neck. With 12 cases under 600 units, 100 to 2,300 units of thrombin (1,000 U/mL) were injected slowly. Slow injection, positioning of the ball of thrombus formed at the needle tip, probe compression, and combined or interchangeable use of US color flow and B-mode were the essential techniques utilized. All PSA thrombosed successfully on the first treatment. One patient had fever and another returned for compression treatment of a second, not recurrent, PSA.

CONCLUSIONS

Successful thrombinjection was accomplished by focusing on common femoral artery PSA with small neck openings, avoiding arteriovenous fistulas, and using standard thrombin concentration, US needle, state of the art ultrasonography, slow injection, thrombus ball positioning, and adjunctive probe compression.

Endoluminal repair of a Dardik prosthesis pseudoaneurysm using the wallgraft endoprosthesis

A 58-year-old man with a history of severe invalidating claudicatio intermittens underwent femoropopliteal bypass with a human umbilical vein graft. Seven years later he presented with a painful enlarging mass in the middle portion of his right thigh. The duplex scan showed a pseudoaneurysm of the body of the prosthesis, which was confirmed by angiography. As an alternative to surgical management, Wallgraft endoprosthesis was used for endoluminal exclusion of the pseudoaneurysm. To our knowledge, this technique has never been used before in such a case.