Final Two-Year Outcomes for the Sentry Bioconvertible Inferior Vena Cava Filter in Patients Requiring Temporary Protection from Pulmonary Embolism.

Purpose: To report final 2-year outcomes with the Sentry bioconvertible inferior vena cava (IVC) filter in patients requiring temporary protection against pulmonary embolism (PE).

Materials And Methods: In a prospective multicenter trial, the Sentry filter was implanted in 129 patients with documented deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and/or PE (67.5%) or who were at temporary risk of developing DVT/PE (32.

One-Year Analysis of the Prospective Multicenter SENTRY Clinical Trial: Safety and Effectiveness of the Novate Sentry Bioconvertible Inferior Vena Cava Filter.

Purpose: To prospectively assess the Sentry bioconvertible inferior vena cava (IVC) filter in patients requiring temporary protection against pulmonary embolism (PE).

Materials And Methods: At 23 sites, 129 patients with documented deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or PE, or at temporary risk of developing DVT or PE, unable to use anticoagulation were enrolled. The primary end point was clinical success, including successful filter deployment, freedom from new symptomatic PE through 60 days before filter bioconversion, and 6-month freedom from filter-related complications.

Clinical practice of interventional and cardiovascular radiology: current status, guidelines for resource allocation, future directions.

The practices of interventional radiology and interventional neuroradiology are centered on high-quality direct patient care. These subspecialties have long histories of innovative care that has often revolutionized the treatment of disease and illness. More recently, however, this success has brought about competition from former referring physicians as they have gained access to technology and training that will enable them to obtain credentials for procedures that were formerly in the exclusive domain of interventionalists.

Establishing surveillance clinics: the road to success.

Interventional radiology interacts with all medical disciplines and historically has not had a patient base of its own. The specialty has depended upon referrals for procedures (often complex) and not referrals for the global management of the disease process or patient. Because of this, when referrers develop catheter-based skills, referrals to interventional radiology drop and competition for primary care physician referrals increase; a double strike.

Using midlevel providers in interventional radiology.

Developing and implementing clinical services, including consultations, rounds, and clinic, is time-consuming, and for the interventional radiologist this means time away from the interventional laboratory. Using a team approach to providing clinical services is logical, and the midlevel provider is a perfect fit for an interventional radiology team. Midlevel providers can be grouped into two categories, advanced practice nurses (APNs) and physician's assistants (PAs).

Coding issues for interventional radiology: get paid for what you do!

As interventional radiology continues to evolve into a true clinical practice, more time will be spent on the clinical decision process; this time is reimbursable in the form of evaluation and management (E&M) services. Once assumed to be an inherent part of the procedure itself, we know many procedures now do not include follow-up E&M components. Unfortunately, E&M coding is somewhat complex and requires rigorous documentation.

OptEase retrievable inferior vena cava filter: initial multicenter experience.

The purpose of this article is to describe our experience with the retrievable OptEase inferior vena cava filter (IVCF) (Cordis Corporation, Miami Lakes, FL) in the prevention of pulmonary embolus (PE). Forty patients (24 men, age range 15-85 years, mean age 38 years) who were at temporary risk of PE underwent insertion and retrieval of the OptEase IVCF at two institutions. Eleven patients were treated with filter implantation and subsequent repositioning in the inferior vena cava (IVC) to extend implantation time.

Differentiating pharmacologic agents used in catheter-directed thrombolysis.

The use of catheter-directed thrombolysis is a proven treatment for arterial ischemia, deep vein thrombosis, and severe pulmonary embolism. For arterial ischemia, thrombolysis has resulted in improved amputation-free survival and fewer subsequent surgeries to reestablish blood flow to the ischemic limb. The management of patients with thromboembolic diseases is complex, and the multiple thrombolytic drugs available to choose from compound this complexity.

Transaxillary carotid stenting: technical case report.

Objective And Importance: As endovascular neurointerventions continue to evolve rapidly, angioplasty and stenting of both the extracranial and intracranial vessels have become more routine procedures. When the transfemoral approach is contraindicated or technically difficult, familiarity with alternative access techniques becomes essential. We report a successful transaxillary carotid stenting in a patient with an axillary bifemoral bypass graft.

Gelatin sponge closure device versus manual compression after peripheral arterial catheterization procedures.

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of the QuickSeal system, which delivers an over-the-wire extravascular porcine gelatin sponge (nonbovine and noncollagen), compared with manual compression in a single interventional radiology practice.

Materials And Methods: This single-institution report involves 141 patients undergoing peripheral diagnostic and interventional procedures in a teaching and private-practice setting. A 3:2 device-to-control ratio was used with randomization stratified by type of procedure, interventional or diagnostic.

Declining-dose study of reteplase treatment for lower extremity arterial occlusions.

Purpose: To prospectively determine the technical success and complication rates of three different reteplase dosing regimens during catheter-directed arterial thrombolysis.

Materials And Methods: Prospective data were obtained from three groups of patients who underwent lower extremity arterial thrombolysis with three different regimens of reteplase: 0.5 U/h, 0.

Catheter-directed thrombolysis in deep venous thrombosis with use of reteplase: immediate results and complications from a pilot study.

Purpose: To prospectively determine the thrombolytic success and complication rates of catheter-directed thrombolytic infusions in deep vein thrombosis (DVT) with use of reteplase.

Materials And Methods: After approval by the institutional review board, prospective, detailed data were obtained for 25 consecutive patients with acute and chronic DVT of the upper or lower extremity (seven upper extremity; 14 lower extremity; four vena cava). Infusion rates were 1.

Treatment of pelvic arteriovenous malformations with ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer (Onyx).

In this article, two successful embolizations of large pelvic arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) with use of ethylene vinyl alcohol, a radiopaque, nonadhesive liquid casting agent, are reported. Both patients presented with large symptomatic pelvic AVMs requiring therapy. Coaxial microcatheter techniques were used to achieve complete success in one case and partial success in the other.