Update on Transradial Access for Percutaneous Transcatheter Visceral Artery Embolization

Transradial Prostatic Artery Embolization as a Salvage Procedure in a Patient With Severe Deformities and Refractory Hematuria of Prostatic Origin

Benign prostatic hyperplasia is a common condition causing urinary symptoms in older men. It can sometimes lead to hematuria of prostatic origin, due to increased vascularity of the enlarged gland. If this type of hematuria is severe and refractory to conservative measures, it can be life-threatening. Prostatic artery embolization (PAE) serves as a minimally invasive alternative to traditional surgical interventions, particularly in patients with comorbidities and contraindications to surgery. We present a case of a 79-year-old male with refractory hematuria of prostatic origin (RHPO), multiple comorbidities, and significant deformities of the left upper and both lower limbs. The patient was treated with PAE via the right radial artery, a less common approach in interventional radiology. The procedure was successful and led to a complete resolution of hematuria, with no complications. This report highlights the importance of adapting treatment for complex patients and shows that PAE can be safe and effective in such cases.

The distal radial artery: Versatile vascular access for transcatheter interventions

Conventional transradial access has been established as the gold standard for invasive coronary angiography and percutaneous interventions by the current European and American guidelines. The distal or snuffbox radial artery access represents an alternative transradial access site that allows radial sheath insertion with the patient's hand pronated. Firstly described 40 years ago, it exploded in popularity only recently. Promising additional benefits, the distal radial access is increasingly being adopted in various types of percutaneous interventions, being preferred by many interventional cardiologists and radiologists for its reduced vascular complications and time to hemostasis, and improvement of patient and operator comfort. Other centers consider it a fad, waiting for solid clear evidence and benefits. The evidence is dynamic and discrepant, depending on the center, the operator, and how it was collected (randomized controlled vs observational studies). Another essential aspect raised by "skeptics" was whether distal radial access, by its smaller diameter and more angled course, can support all types of interventions. The aim of this review is to gather all the scenarios where distal radial access has been utilized and to conclude whether this vascular access is feasible across all transcatheter interventions.

Comparison Between Radial and Femoral Artery Access for Transarterial Chemoembolisation in Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to compare the technical success rate, the selectivity of transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE), the complication rate, the radiation dose given to the patients and the hospitalization stay between TACE performed using femoral artery approach (FAA) and TACE performed using radial artery approach (RAA) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODS

Between June 2020 and April 2022, 49 patients with HCC who underwent 116 TACEs (75 using FAA and 41 using RAA) were included. Differences in technical success rate, selectivity of micro-catheterization, radiation dose given to the patients, fluoroscopy time, hospitalization stay duration, and complication rate were compared between FAA and RAA using Fisher exact or Student t tests.

RESULTS

No differences in technical success rates were found between RAA (93%; 39/41 TACEs) and FAA (100%; 75/75 TACEs) (P = .12). There were no differences between the two groups in terms of selectivity of catheterization, radiation dose, fluoroscopy time and hospitalization stay duration. Five patients had Grade 2 complications (hematoma) after FAA vs. one patient with one Grade 1 complication (radial artery occlusion) after RAA (5/75 [7%] vs. 1/41 [2%], respectively; P = .42). No major arterial access site complications occurred with FAA or RAA.

CONCLUSIONS

This study confirms that RAA is a safe approach that does not compromise the technical efficacy and the selectivity of TACE compared to FAA in patients with HCC.

The clinical application of transarterial embolization via radial artery in hemorrhagic diseases in obstetrics and gynecology

Purpose

The present study aimed to explore the feasibility and safety of Transarterial embolization (TAE) in the treatment of obstetrics and gynecological hemorrhagic diseases transradial approach (TRA) compared to transfemoral approach (TFA).

Methods

This cohort study was conducted on patients with obstetrics and gynecology bleeding diseases from June 2021 to November 2022. Clinical characteristics of the patients were comparable between the two groups. The success rate of puncture and embolization, radiation dose, operation time, fluoroscopy time (FT), as well as complications of each patient were recorded and then retrospectively analyzed the data. The European Five-dimensional Health Scale (ED-5Q) and visual analog scale (VAS) were used to assess the quality of life (QOL) on the day of discharge and 30 days after surgery between the two groups.

Results

A total of 71 patients undergoing TAE were allocated to the TRA (n = 31) or TFA (n = 40) group in this study. Puncture and embolization were completed in all patients. Compared to the TFA group, the radiation dose of the TRA group (343.89 ± 108.81 mGy vs. 469.29 ± 198.66 mGy; p = 0.029) is significantly reduced. Minor complications occurred in only one patient (3.2%) in the TRA group. The surgery-related quality of life EQ-5D index score on the day of discharge in the TRA group (0.72 ± 0.12 vs. 0.65 ± 0.11; p = 0.017) was significantly higher than that in the TFA group, and the VAS score (2.55 ± 0.62 vs. 2.95 ± 0.85; p = 0.025) of catheter site discomfort was significantly lower in the TRA group were than in the TFA group, but no significant difference was observed in the QOL assessment at 30 days post-surgery.

Conclusion

Transradial approach TAE has comparable efficacy and safety to TFA TAE in treating obstetrics and gynecological bleeding diseases. This access can improve patient QOL without affecting surgical safety.

Analysis of the Effectiveness of Transradial Access Puncture in the Application of Complications and Comfort after Cerebral Angiography

Objective

To investigate the analysis of the effectiveness of transradial access puncture in the application of complications and comfort after cerebral angiography.

Methods

Retrospectively analyzed 80 patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were randomly divided into the control group (femoral artery group n = 40) and test group (radial artery group n = 40) using a random number table from January 2021 to January 2022 admitted to the department of neurology and department of vascular interventions in our hospital and compared the incidence of postoperative puncture site bleeding, time to first postoperative urination, and incidence of postoperative urinary retention and postoperative changes in comfort level.

Results

There was 1 case of postoperative puncture site bleeding in the test group and 6 cases of postoperative puncture site bleeding in the control group, with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05); the time to first urination in the test group (62.47) was significantly better than that in the control group (85.97), with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05); there were 0 cases of urinary retention in the test group and 6 cases in the control group, with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). The GCQ scores of patients in the test group were significantly higher than those in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Transradial access puncture has a good clinical effect and can effectively reduce the complication rate of patients, which is worth promoting.

Prostatic Artery Embolization for Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms via Transradial Versus Transfemoral Artery Access: Single-Center Technical Outcomes

Objective

To evaluate the safety and feasibility of prostatic artery embolization (PAE) via transradial access (TRA) compared with transfemoral access (TFA).

Materials and Methods

This retrospective study included 53 consecutive men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) who underwent PAE between September 2018 and September 2021. Thirty-one patients (mean age ± standard deviation: 70.6 ± 8.4 years) were treated with TFA, including 14 patients treated before adopting TRA. Since December 2019, TRA has also been attempted with the procedure’s selection criteria of patent carpal circulation and a height ≤ 172 cm, with 22 patients treated via TRA (69.1 ± 9.6 years). Parameters of technical success (defined as successful bilateral embolization), clinical success (defined as LUTS improvement), procedural time, radiation dose, and adverse events were compared between the two groups using the Fisher’s exact test, independent sample t test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, or Mann-Whitney test.

Results

All patients received at least one-side PAE. Technical success of PAE was achieved in most patients (TRA, 21/22; TFA, 30/31; p > 0.999). No technical problem-related conversion from TRA to TFA occurred. The clinical success rate was 85% (11/13) in patients with TRA, and 89% (16/18) in patients with TFA for follow-up > 2 weeks post-PAE (median, 3 months) (p > 0.999). The median procedure time was similar in both groups (TRA, 81 minutes vs. TFA, 94 minutes; p = 0.570). No significant dose differences were found between the TRA and TFA groups in the dose-area product (median Gycm², 95 [range, 44–255] for TRA and 84 [34–255] for TFA; p = 0.678) or cumulative air kerma (median mGy, 609 [236–1584] for TRA and 634 [217–1594] for TFA; p = 0.551). No major adverse events occurred in either of the groups.

Conclusion

PAE via TRA is a safe and feasible method comparable to conventional TFA. It can be safely implemented by selecting patients with patent carpal circulation and adequate height.

Comparison of transradial and transfemoral access for transcatheter arterial embolization of iatrogenic renal hemorrhage

BACKGROUND

There are few reports of renal artery embolization (RAE) via transradial access (TRA) for renal hemorrhage, and none have compared outcomes of RAE via TRA and transfemoral access (TFA). The objective was to compare technical and clinical outcomes in patients undergoing RAE via TRA or TFA for iatrogenic renal hemorrhage.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study included 45 RAE procedures (16 TRA and 29 TFA) for iatrogenic renal hemorrhage in 43 patients performed at a tertiary referral center between October 2018 and December 2020. Information regarding underlying diseases, coagulation status, angiographic and embolization procedure details, technical and clinical successes, and complications were retrospectively evaluated.

RESULTS

There were no differences in demographics, underlying diseases, updated Charlson comorbidity scores, angiographic findings, and volume of contrast material between the TRA and TFA groups. By contrast, prothrombin time and international normalized ratio were significantly lower in the TRA than in the TFA group. Embolic materials differed significantly in the two groups. Procedure duration, fluoroscopy time, digital subtraction angiography number, and dose area product were slightly lower in the TRA than in the TFA group, but the differences were not statistically significant. Technical and clinical success rates in the TRA and TFA groups were 100% and 96.6%, and 100% and 96.6%, respectively. No patient in either group experienced procedure-related complications during a 4 week follow-up period.

CONCLUSION

RAE via TRA in the management of iatrogenic renal hemorrhage was safe and feasible, with similar procedure duration and radiation exposure to RAE via TFA. TRA may be an acceptable alternative to TFA in these patients.