[Minimally-invasive combined radiosurgical interventions in diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary artery thromboembolism]. / Maloinvazivnye kombinirovannye rentgenokhirgicheskie vmeshatel'stva pri diagnostike i lechenii tromboémbolii legochno-arterial'nogo basseina.

Basing on the analysis of results obtained during the investigation and treatment of 38 patients suspected of pulmonary artery thromboembolism (PAT) the algorithm of measures applied in our hospital was developed. Its purpose was to put the PAT diagnosis and treatment in order. In our investigations the leading treatment method was the regional infusion therapy conducted through the transformation of diagnostic catheterization of pulmonary artery trunk into the treatment intervention. With the purpose of embolus hydrodynamic destruction the regional thrombolysis was conducted under conditions of fast high-pressure perfusion. It was preceded by the mechanical recanalization of thrombosis zone by the distal part of probe in order to create more favorable perfusion conditions. To prevent the repeated PAT when the source of thromboembolism was revealed the cava-filter implantation in the infra-renal part of inferior cava was performed.

The 1-month outcome of patients with a low probability Technegas ventilation/perfusion lung scan.

The objective was to study the 1-month outcome of patients who had a low probability ventilation/perfusion lung scan using Technegas radioaerosol as the inhalational agent and who did not receive anticoagulation. One hundred consecutive patients with suspected pulmonary embolism were studied retrospectively. Their Technegas lung scans were classified by two blinded and independent nuclear medicine physicians and the medical records of all patients with a low probability scan were reviewed. One hundred inpatients (42 males and 58 females) with a mean age of 63 years were studied. The three most common clinical presentations leading to lung scintigraphy were unexplained dyspnoea (30 cases), unexplained dyspnoea with pleuritic chest pain (26 cases) and pleuritic chest pain only (15 cases). Nine patients had been judged by their managing medical team to have a high clinical probability of true pulmonary embolism, 32 had an intermediate probability clinical presentation and 59 a low clinical probability of pulmonary embolism. None of the 100 patients experienced further episodes of suspected or proven pulmonary embolism during the follow-up period. Six patients died. In none of them was pulmonary embolism either the cause of or a major contributing factor to death. The finding of a low probability scan using Technegas as the ventilation scintigram agent of choice describes a group of patients who, even in the absence of therapeutic anticoagulation, have a favourable 1-month outcome free of either true or suspected clinical pulmonary embolism. Invasive, pulmonary angiography-based diagnostic strategies may not be needed in this group of patients.

Use of laser energy to treat central pulmonary emboli: a preliminary report.

We evaluated the ability and safety of a laser fiber placed percutaneously into a pig's lobar pulmonary artery to lyse pulmonary artery blood clots that were created in situ. We developed a model to create blood clots in situ that could be placed in any desired location with a radio-opaque marker at the clot position. An excimer laser delivered energy to a flexible 600 microns fiber in three experiments and a coaxial 1.6 mm multifiber catheter in the last experiment. Pre- and postprocedure angiograms obtained from each experiment demonstrated that partial laser dissolution of central pulmonary emboli in four pigs was accomplished successfully. To avoid perforation, it is imperative that the laser fiber remain coaxial during the entire lasing process. These results suggest that laser dissolution may become an adjunctive procedure for the treatment of central pulmonary emboli in those patients who cannot be treated medically.

[Local streptokinase administration in massive pulmonary embolism]. / Lokale Streptokinaseanwendung bei massiver pulmonaler Embolie.

Five patients with acute massive pulmonary embolism were treated with streptokinase administered via the pulmonary artery as close as possible to the embolus. Streptokinase (Awelysin) was infused at a loading dose of 250,000 IU followed by a maintenance dose of 100,000 IU/hour under haemodynamic and angiographic control. In four of five patients (two patients with cardiogenic shock) the clinical signs, pulmonary artery pressure and the angiographic findings improved or they normalised within 5-12 hours. In one patient with recurrent embolisation over three weeks the clinical condition improved gradually, although the angiographic findings improved only slightly. The results demonstrate that local thrombolysis of acute massive pulmonary embolism is a highly effective form of treatment.