Intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation: variations in use and complications

To study variations in use of intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation (IABC) and their impact on complications by comparing aspects of its use in a Regional Cardiothoracic Centre with an international database.

Indications, technique and complication rate in 764 consecutive patients treated with IABC from January 1998 to November 2001 (Group I) at the Regional Cardiothoracic Centre were compared with 24,555 consecutive patients from the international ("Benchmark") database (Group II). Patients in Groups I and II were of similar mean age (65.5 vs. 65.6 years) and predominantly males (77.1% vs. 66.9%). IABC-related complications were significantly less in Group I vs. Group II (3.93% vs. 7.04%, p<0.001), probably due to the increased use of smaller French size balloons (8f in Group I: 73.3% vs. Group II: 28.8%, p<0.001) and significantly less use of femoral artery sheaths (Group I: 91.2% vs. Group II: 20.4%, p<0.001) as well as less concomitant use of potent anti-thrombotic therapy (4.2% vs. 21.7%). By comparison to the international database only a minority of our patients were transferred in specifically for insertion of IABC (Group I: 1.3% vs. Group II: 22.8%, p<0.001) suggesting under-recognition of the potential value of IABC in haemodynamically compromised patients.

In comparison to an international database, complications were significantly less after IABC at the regional cardiothoracic centre. There were far fewer patients referred specifically for IABC use. Indications, choice of appropriate device, technique of deployment and concomitant use of anti-platelet therapy varies and perhaps needs to be standardised internationally. Regular audit of any such large database is vital to ensure dissemination of potentially important messages it contains.