Cyanoacrylate Closure of Small Saphenous Vein Insufficiency

899 serious adverse events including 13 deaths, 7 strokes, 211 thromboembolic events, and 482 immune reactions: The untold story of cyanoacrylate adhesive closure

OBJECTIVE

The aim was to retrieve and analyse the serious adverse events of venous occlusion systems used in cyanoacrylate adhesive closure (CAC) submitted to regulatory agencies.

METHODS

The Total Product Life Cycle (TPLC) database of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Database of Adverse Event Notifications (DAEN) of the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), and the Yellow Card database of the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) were reviewed. Three Freedom of Information (FOI) requests had to be submitted to the MHRA to obtain data.

RESULTS

The TPLC contained 899 reports which included 13 cases of death, 7 strokes, 211 thromboembolic events, and 482 immune reactions. The DAEN recorded three reportable adverse events, and the MHRA recorded seven adverse incidents including one death.

CONCLUSION

CAC is associated with serious adverse events including death. These events are under-reported in the medical literature and only sub-optimally reported to the regulatory agencies.

How effective is cyanoacrylate closure in small saphenous vein insufficiency? A single center experience

OBJECTIVES

The present study was aimed to evaluate the efficacy and early outcomes of n-butyl cyanoacrylate (NBCA) ablation in small saphenous vein (SSV) insufficiency.

METHODS

In this single-center, retrospective, single-arm study, NBCA ablation was performed in 80 patients with SSV insufficiency between September 2018 and May 2020. Primary outcomes (anatomic success rate and occlusion rate) and secondary outcomes (VCSS and AVVQ scores) of the patients were analyzed.

RESULTS

No technical failure and device-related complications were encountered. Anatomic success rate was 100% after procedures. Each treated SSV was occluded on colored Doppler ultrasonography immediately after the procedure, and all veins remained occluded at 2 weeks after the procedure. Partial recanalization was observed in five patients at 12-month follow-up. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed an occlusion rates at 6 months and 12 months follow-up were 97.5% and 93.75%, respectively. The mean pretreatment VCSS (4.72 ± 2.04) decreased to 1.61 ± 0.93, 0.87 ± 0.58, and 0.73 ± 0.52 at 2 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months after treatment, respectively (p < .001). The mean pretreatment AVVQ score (11.92 ± 2.23) decreased to 8.2 ± 1.89, 4.2 ± 1.16, and 3.32 ± 1.19 at 2 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months after treatment, respectively (p < .001). The Clinical, Etiologic, Anatomic, and Pathophysiology clinical classification at 12 months demonstrated a significant reduction in disease severity compared with preoperative values (p < .001). There was no mortality and major adverse events including anaphylaxis and pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) related to procedure after follow-ups. Moreover, there were no symptoms or signs of any sural nerve injury and no cases of skin necrosis, infection, or hyperpigmentation. In addition, no hematoma, deep venous thrombosis, and hypersensitivity reactions were observed. Phlebitis-like abnormal reaction was observed in three patients (3.8%).

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, in patients with SSV insufficiency, NBCA ablation with VenaBlock® system appears to be an effective and reliable treatment method. At the 12-month follow-up, the NBCA of SSVs showed a low recanalization rate and had a satisfactory improvement on the VCSS and AVVQ scores.