A review of preclinical absorbable inferior vena cava filters

Absorbable inferior vena cava filters (IVCFs) could be more effective and safer than standard IVCFs in theory, as they will self-resorb over time, thus rendering the need for filter retrieval and the risks associated with it unnecessary. This scoping review aims to evaluate the design of current absorbable IVCFs, review the development phase of the absorbable IVCFs, assess the efficacy of the absorbable IVCFs and their complications, and discuss the limitations and areas for future research.

MEDLINE, PubMed, and Embase databases were electronically searched and citations of relevant studies manually searched. Study selection and data extraction were performed by two independent reviewers using predetermined criteria and stored on premade proforma, respectively. The risk of bias (RoB) for both in vitro and in vivo studies were performed using established RoB tools.

Eight studies were suitable for inclusion in this scoping review; five were in vivo and three were in vitro studies. No clinical trials were found. The RoB varied from moderate to high for in vivo studies and from low to moderate for in vitro studies. Overall, there was evidence from both in vivo and in vitro studies that absorbable IVCFs were effective in clot capturing and self-resorption and could decrease complications associated with standard IVCFs. However, there was a broad lack of statistical analyses and control groups to determine the significance of these findings.

Absorbable IVCFs have shown promising features and results in preclinical models. However, significant research needs to be further performed to achieve the ideal characteristics of an absorbable IVCF before the first human trial can be conducted safely.