Percutaneous closure devices do not reduce the risk of major access site complications in patients undergoing

Jennifer S McDonald1, David F Kallmes, Giuseppe Lanzino

  • 1Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA. mcdonald.jennifer@mayo.edu

Insights

Closure devices offer minimal benefit for minor complications after carotid stent placement. Major adverse events and other risks remain similar whether or not a closure device is used.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Interventions
  • Medical Device Safety
  • Vascular Surgery

Background:

  • Carotid stent placement is a common procedure to prevent stroke.
  • Femoral access site complications can occur after endovascular procedures.
  • Closure devices aim to reduce access site complications.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the risk of femoral access site complications in patients undergoing carotid stent placement treated with versus without a closure device.
  • To evaluate the impact of closure devices on minor and major access site complications.
  • To assess secondary outcomes including mortality, stroke, and transfusion rates.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of a national patient database (Premier Perspective) from 2006-2011.
  • Identification of patients undergoing carotid stent placement.
  • Propensity score matching to adjust for patient characteristics and reduce selection bias.

Main Results:

  • Among 12,287 patients, 52% received a closure device.
  • Closure devices were associated with a small, likely not clinically relevant, reduction in minor access site complications (4.2% vs 5.4%).
  • No significant difference was observed in major access site complications, in-hospital mortality, or stroke rates between groups.

Conclusions:

  • Closure device use did not substantially reduce the risk of major adverse events after carotid stent placement.
  • A small improvement in minor access site complications was noted, but its clinical significance is questionable.
  • The routine use of closure devices for carotid stent placement may not be warranted based on these findings.
Abstract