Minimally invasive outpatient centers.

Minimally-invasive medicine has continually progressed from its beginning in the 1960's. Evolution of technology and techniques have led to treatment of new disease states in minimally-invasive therapies. Now the venue of those therapies is shifting outpatient procedures from the hospital and into outpatient centers.

Catheter-directed thrombolytic therapy in peripheral artery occlusions: combining reteplase and abciximab.

Objective: The goal of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of combination therapy consisting of the third-generation plasminogen activator reteplase and the glycoproteins IIb and IIIa platelet receptor antagonist abciximab for thrombolysis in peripheral artery occlusive disease. This two-center experience focused on immediate thrombolytic success, thrombolysis time, complication rate, and 30-day patency rate.

Subjects And Methods: Fifty patients with arterial occlusive disease (age range, 40-96 years; mean age, 69 years) were prospectively enrolled at two centers.