Outcomes of accelerated catheter-directed thrombolysis in patients with acute arterial thrombosis

Current intra-arterial catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) protocols recommend treatment with small doses of a thrombolytic agent, which excludes patients in need of urgent revascularization. We evaluated the effects of accelerated thrombolysis utilizing increased recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) doses. Forty-one patients with acute, thrombotic limb ischemia (ALI) were treated using accelerated CDT. The treatment consisted of an initial dose of 10 mg rt-PA for 30 minutes followed by a 3-hour course of a continuous intra-arterial 10 mg/hour rt-PA infusion. Simultaneously, intravenous unfractionated heparin (500 IU/hour) was administered. No deaths occurred. Satisfactory lysis was achieved in 37 of the 41 patients (90.2%). All significant underlying lesions were corrected (89.2%). Complications developed in nine patients (22%); the most frequent complication (four patients, 9.8%) was puncture site hematoma. The reintervention rate was 2.6% and 15.4% at the 1 and 6-month follow-ups, respectively. The major amputation rate was 10.3% and 12.8% at the 1 and 6-month follow-ups, respectively. Outflow compromise was adversely related to successful outcome at the 6-month follow-up (p=0.01). In conclusion, this study confirms the effectiveness and safety of the accelerated CDT regimen for treatment of thrombotic ALI at a single center, but requires confirmation in further studies.