Safety of short stay observation after peripheral vascular intervention

To determine whether short observation periods (less than or equal to 4 hours) are safe in outpatients undergoing arterial peripheral vascular interventions.

A retrospective review of 203 patient medical records from the Interventional Vascular Department for 239 lower extremity or abdominal procedures (161 men and 78 women) during a 5-year period was completed. The average patient age was 62.2 years (range, 32-83 years). Thirty-six patients had more than one procedure. Indication, intervention, coagulation status, complication rate, and hospitalizations within 7 days after discharge from the short stay unit (SSU) were reviewed and the outcome was measured. Patients were grouped according to the length of their observation period (< or =4 hours or >4 hours) for statistical analysis.

In 85% of the procedures (204 procedures), claudication was the primary indication for intervention. Angioplasty (203 procedures) was also commonly performed. Ninety procedures (38%) required stent placement, and other interventional procedures performed were pulse-spray thrombolysis (eight procedures), atherectomy (two procedures), and stent-graft placement (one procedure). None of the patients required hospitalization as a result of their radiologic intervention within 7 days after discharge from the SSU. Specifically, there were no major "at home" complications in patients discharged after an observation period of < or =4 hours. Two patients were admitted for outpatient procedures and were subsequently hospitalized as a result of a complication from the procedure. The complication rate (including minor complications) was 8% (seven of 87) in the < or =4 hour observation period group compared with 24.3% (37 of 152) in the >4 hour group (P < .01). This difference was due to a greater number of minor hematomas in the >4 hour group.

Based on the authors' findings, many interventional vascular procedures can be performed safely on an outpatient basis with relatively short observation times. Early discharge from the SSU did not result in an increased readmission rate to the hospital because of delayed complications.