Ultrasound-enhanced thrombolysis

Purpose: To report a single-center clinical experience with ultrasound-enhanced thrombolysis in the treatment of both arterial and venous thromboses. Methods: From January 2005 to June 2006, 33 patients (23 men; age range 39-90 years) with 36 occlusions were treated using ultrasound-enhanced thrombolytic therapy for acute and chronic arterial and venous occlusions. After diagnostic angiography, the occlusions were crossed with an appropriately sized Lysus infusion catheter for infusion of urokinase (80,000-120,000 IU/h). Results: Technical success and complete lysis was achieved in 96% of the arterial and 83% of the venous occlusions. Two patients with chronic occlusions (one superficial femoral artery and one iliac vein) were refractory to lytic therapy. Average time for complete lysis was 16.4 hours (range 3-25) for arterial occlusions and 21.2 hours (range 6-43) in patients with deep vein thrombosis. Conclusion: Successful clot lysis can be achieved with a high rate of success in a shorter time than conventional thrombolysis using ultrasound-enhanced thrombolysis in both acute and chronic arterial and venous thromboses.