New method for ultrasound-guided inferior vena cava filter placement

Transabdominal ultrasound (TAUS)-guided inferior vena cava filter (IVCF) placement currently uses an inferior vena cava (IVC) longitudinal plane with cross-section of the right renal artery or the transverse plane of the right renal vein (RRV)-IVC intersection. The goal of this study was to introduce a new method for TAUS-guided IVCF placement.

The study enrolled patients who were at high risk for or had pulmonary embolism from October 22, 2010, to June 30, 2016. The probe was positioned on the right flank to centralize the RRV-IVC junction during imaging and to permit a straight line through the midpoint of the probe on the surface and a parallel line 1.0 cm below the straight line as a marker. The probe was subsequently placed on the abdominal wall with the upper edge at the marker line to show the long axis of the IVC during the process of filter placement. The upper edge of the probe was considered the filter tip position.

A total of 1029 patients were evaluated, and 98 patients (9.5%) were excluded because of poor IVC visualization (n = 14 [1.4%]), IVC or bilateral iliac vein thrombosis (n = 79 [7.7%]), and unsuitable anatomy (n = 5 [0.5%]). The remaining 931 patients (90.5%) were selected for TAUS-guided IVCF placement, and all filters (100%) were successfully placed. There were no procedure-related complications. Suprarenal IVCF was observed in 4 patients (0.4%) by computed tomography, and the filter tip exceeded the upper edge of L2 in 15 patients (1.6%) by plain film radiography; one of them had two RRVs. Severe filter tilting (20.8 degrees) occurred in one patient.

This new method of TAUS-guided IVCF placement was simple, safe, and effective. It may be widely applied for the bedside placement of vena cava filters.