INTRA-CLOT MICROBUBBLE-ENHANCED ULTRASOUND ACCELERATES CATHETER-DIRECTED THROMBOLYSIS FOR DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS: A CLINICAL STUDY

摘要

Insufficiency of microbubbles in the vessel-obstructing thrombus significantly reduces the effectiveness of ultrasound thrombolysis. With catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT), microbubbles can be delivered directly into the thrombus. In this study, we combined CDT with intra-clot microbubble-enhanced ultrasound thrombolysis (IMUT) to investigate its safety and efficiency in thrombolysis in patients with acute lower limb deep vein thrombosis (DVT). For IMUT, a 1-MHz air-backed transducer directed 100-mu s-pulse-length and 100-Hz-pulse-repetition pressure at 1 MPa was used. Thirteen DVT patients in the study group were treated with CDT and IMUT. Forty-three DVT patients in the historical control group were treated with CDT alone. The results indicated that the average thrombolysis time of the study group was significantly shorter (5.23 +/- 1.59 d) than that of the control (10.00 +/- 2.69 d), and the overall urokinase dosage of the study group ([3.82 +/- 1.68] x 10(6) IU) was lower than that of the control ([4.99 +/- 2.26] x 10(6) IU). No procedure-related complications were noted in either group. Therefore, combining CDT with IMUT can improve thrombolysis safely and efficiently. (C) 2019 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. All rights reserved.