Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations: techniques and long-term outcome of embolotherapy

Over a 10-year period, 276 pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs) were occluded with balloon embolotherapy in 76 patients, 67 (88%) of whom had hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia. Eleven patients (14%) were discovered by means of family screening with measurement of arterial blood gases and chest radiography. Epistaxis, dyspnea, hemoptysis, and hemothorax occurred in 79%, 71%, 13%, and 9% of patients, respectively. Clinical histories of strokes and transient ischemic attacks were present in 18% and 37% of patients, respectively. Computed tomographic scans of 59 patients showed stroke in 36%. Sixty-five percent of PAVMs were located in the lower lobes, which correlated with the finding of more pronounced hypoxemia in the upright position. After embolotherapy, symptomatic hypoxemia was corrected, and serial values have remained constant for 5 years. Complications were minimal, and no patient required surgery. Balloon embolotherapy is effective long-term therapy for PAVMs, and family screening should be pursued because of the possibility of a higher frequency of paradoxical embolization (stroke) than previously recognized.

Transgraft hemorrhage: a serious complication of low-dose thrombolytic therapy

A 71-year-old woman came to the hospital with a 24-hour-old occlusion of the left limb of an aortoiliac knitted Dacron graft and was treated with an intra-arterial infusion of urokinase, 40,000 U/hr. Although the graft limb was successfully recanalized in 16 hours, the patient suffered a massive retroperitoneal hemorrhage through the wall of the graft. Clinicians must be aware of this potentially serious complication of thrombolytic therapy in patients with thrombosed, knitted Dacron grafts.

Tailored approach for evaluation of peripheral vascular disease: intravenous digital subtraction angiography

A tailored approach for evaluating patients with peripheral vascular disease has been developed using intravenous digital subtraction angiography (IV DSA). This approach includes a history, physical examination, and correlation with Doppler pressure measurements to predict the location of the dominant lesion. In 60 patients, two views of the aortoiliac segment plus three or four views of the femoral and runoff circulation in the most symptomatic leg were obtained. Of the 60 patients, 36% had percutaneous transluminal angioplasty as a primary form of therapy, 32% were treated surgically, and 32% were followed clinically. Only 10% of these patients required further evaluation by conventional angiography. By omitting inpatient arteriography, considerable financial savings and increased patient comfort result.