Retrieval of an inferior vena cava Greenfield filter 34 years after insertion.

Inferior vena cava (IVC) filters are engineered medical devices deployed in the IVC primarily to prevent a pulmonary embolism from occurring. In this article, we present a case of an IVC filter that was successfully retrieved from a patient after being in place for 34 years. The patient presented to hospital for trauma in which subsequent imaging showed tines of an IVC filter protruding outside of the vessel with one of the tines penetrating the duodenal wall. The filter was successfully removed with no complications. This report adds to the existing literature by yielding an example of an adverse risk that can be associated with the placement of IVC filters. In addition, to the authors' best knowledge, this is the longest reported length of time that an IVC filter has stayed in a patient before being removed, thus adding another intriguing detail to the case.

The reproducibility of interventional radiology randomized controlled trials and external validation of a classification system.

PURPOSE: The fragility index (FI) measures the robustness of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). It complements the P value by taking into account the number of outcome events. In this study, the authors measured the FI for major interventional radiology RCTs. METHODS: Interventional radiology RCTs published between January 2010 and December 2022 relating to trans-jugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt, trans-arterial chemoembolization, needle biopsy, angiography, angioplasty, thrombolysis, and nephrostomy tube insertion were analyzed to measure the FI and robustness of the studies. RESULTS: A total of 34 RCTs were included. The median FI of those studies was 4.5 (range 1-68). Seven trials (20.6%) had a number of patients lost to follow-up that was higher than their FI, and 15 (44.1%) had a FI of 1-3. CONCLUSION: The median FI, and hence the reproducibility of interventional radiology RCTs, is low compared to other medical fields, with some having a FI of 1, which should be interrupted cautiously.

The Complexity of Online Patient Education Materials About Interventional Neuroradiology Procedures Published by Major Academic Institutions.

Introduction Health literacy is an independent predictor of population health status and is directly related to the readability of available patient education material. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the American Medical Association have recommended that patient education materials (PEMs) be written between a fourth- and a sixth-grade education level. The authors assessed the readability of online PEMs about neurointerventional procedures that have been published by several academic institutions across the US. Methods Online PEMs regarding five common neurointerventional procedures, including mechanical thrombectomy for large vessel occlusion, cerebral diagnostic angiography, carotid artery stenting, endovascular aneurysm embolization, and epidural steroid injection collected from the websites of 20 top institutions in Neurology and Neurosurgery. The materials were assessed via five readability scales and then were statistically analyzed and compared to non-institutional education websites (Wikipedia.com and WebMD.com). Results None of the PEMs were written at or below the NIH's recommended 6th-grade reading level. The average educational level required to comprehend the texts across all institutions, as assessed by the readability scales, was 10-11th grade level. Some materials required a college-level education or higher. Material from non-institutional websites had significantly lower readability scores compared to the 20 institutions. Conclusions Current PEMs related to neurointerventional procedures are not written at or below the NIH's recommended fourth- to sixth-grade education level. Given the complexity of those procedures, significant attention should be pointed toward an improvement in the available online materials.

Paired Drainage Catheter Insertion: Feasibility of Placing Two Catheters within the Same Complex Abscess Cavity as a Primary and Salvage Percutaneous Drainage Technique.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: To assess the feasibility of paired catheter drainage for management of complex abdominal abscesses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a single-center retrospective study of 54 patients (35 males; mean age 48.9 years) that underwent paired catheter insertion for complex abdominal fluid collections in an 18-month period. Complex collections were defined as abscesses ≥6 cm in diameter with septations, high viscosity fluid or necrotic debris, or abscesses with an associated fistula. Abscess etiologies included postoperative (n = 28), pancreatitis (n = 12), perforated bowel (n = 7), liver abscess (n = 4), and perihepatic from gallbladder perforation (n = 3). Paired catheter insertion was defined two catheters co-located within one collection through the same skin incision or two closely spaced insertion sites. Paired catheter insertion was used primarily as initial drainage for complex intraabdominal abscesses and for salvage drainage in collections that could not be evacuated by a single catheter. Primary paired catheter insertion was used in 45 patients and as salvage in nine patients. RESULTS: Abscess resolution occurred in 51 (94.4%) patients. Patients had a median of three drainage procedures. Median duration of paired catheterization was 22 days. Seven abscesses recurred and all resolved with repeated drainage. Complications included one hemorrhage that was taken for surgical exploration. Overall, 48 patients had good clinical outcome, 3 patients died (multiorgan failure, n = 2; sepsis, n = 1), and 3 patients were lost to follow-up. CONCLUSION: Percutaneous paired catheter drainage is a feasible technique for the treatment of both complex intraabdominal abscesses and abscesses unresponsive to single catheter drainage.

Multimodal Machine Learning: A Survey and Taxonomy.

Our experience of the world is multimodal - we see objects, hear sounds, feel texture, smell odors, and taste flavors. Modality refers to the way in which something happens or is experienced and a research problem is characterized as multimodal when it includes multiple such modalities. In order for Artificial Intelligence to make progress in understanding the world around us, it needs to be able to interpret such multimodal signals together. Multimodal machine learning aims to build models that can process and relate information from multiple modalities. It is a vibrant multi-disciplinary field of increasing importance and with extraordinary potential. Instead of focusing on specific multimodal applications, this paper surveys the recent advances in multimodal machine learning itself and presents them in a common taxonomy. We go beyond the typical early and late fusion categorization and identify broader challenges that are faced by multimodal machine learning, namely: representation, translation, alignment, fusion, and co-learning. This new taxonomy will enable researchers to better understand the state of the field and identify directions for future research.

Percutaneous management of enterocutaneous fistulae and abscess-fistula complexes.

Abscess-fistula complexes and enterocutaneous fistulae are due to postoperative, spontaneous, and inflammatory etiologies. Conservative, percutaneous, endoscopic, and surgical treatment options are available options. Interventional radiologists have an array of different treatment strategies, often starting with percutaneous drainage of associated intra-abdominal abscesses. This review article details different percutaneous management strategies, focusing on percutaneous catheter strategies for abscess-fistula complexes along with tract closures strategies for enterocutaneous fistulae.

Fluid Flow Patterns Through Drainage Catheters: Clinical Observations in 99 Patients.

PURPOSE: To describe patterns of fluid flow through locking pigtail and biliary catheters in patients that underwent biliary and abdominopelvic fluid drainage. METHODS: Contrast movement through catheter sideholes in pigtail and biliary catheters was evaluated retrospectively using sinograms and cholangiograms at 7-10 days post insertion. Dilute contrast injected through the catheter was evaluated by following flow through the catheter shaft and exit from side holes within the body cavity. Exit of contrast through side holes was appreciated and recorded. Included patients underwent biliary and abdominopelvic fluid drainage using 10.2-F catheters. Exclusion criteria included masking of contrast flow through sideholes by catheter angulation, contrast pooling or other imaging artifacts. RESULTS: A total of 99 patients meeting inclusion criteria underwent evaluation of contrast flow through pigtail (n = 81) and biliary (n = 18) catheters. For pigtail and biliary catheters, 91/99 cases (91.9%) showed contrast exiting the catheter from only the sidehole located most proximally to the catheter hub. In 6/99 cases (6.1%) contrast exited no further than the second most proximal sidehole. In 2/99 cases (2.0%) contrast exited no further than the third most proximal sidehole. In no cases was contrast observed exiting from distal sideholes beyond the third most proximal sidehole. CONCLUSION: Retrograde contrast injection through catheters suggests that the majority of the contribution to total output in drainage catheters comes from the most proximal side hole. Contribution of distal side holes to total drainage is negligible or non-existent, therefore the distal segment of the catheter may be considered non-functional.

Ethanol ablation in postbiopsy liver hemorrhage following two failed embolizations.

A 42-year-old male presented with intraperitoneal hemorrhage 5days following percutaneous liver biopsy for suspected hepatocellular carcinoma. Diagnostic angiogram localized the bleeding to segment VI hepatic artery branches. Two consecutive arterial embolizations with microspheres and platinum coils failed to control the bleeding. The patient was a poor surgical candidate, so ultrasound-guided ethanol ablation of the bleeding source and surrounding liver segment was employed as salvage therapy. The patient stabilized clinically and was discharged home to begin palliative therapy.

An Overview of Splenic Embolization.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to define the role of splenic embolization in trauma patients and in patients presenting for treatment of thrombocytopenia and portal hypertension. This article reviews the indications, technical considerations, outcomes, and complications of splenic artery embolization. CONCLUSION: Transcatheter splenic artery embolization has a major role in the management of traumatic splenic injuries and as an adjunctive procedure in the treatment of thrombocytopenia and portal hypertension.

Abscess-Fistula Complexes: A Systematic Approach for Percutaneous Catheter Management.

PURPOSE: To describe a systematic catheter management approach for treatment of abscesses with enteric fistulae by abscess evacuation and selective fistula tract cannulation in a series of patients with postprocedural abscess-fistula complexes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This single-center retrospective study included 27 patients (17 male; mean age, 51.3 y) who underwent percutaneous drainage of postprocedural abscess-fistula complexes from January 2005 to September 2013. There were 15 low-output and 12 high-output fistulae. Intra-abdominal abscesses were evacuated by percutaneous drainage. Multiple catheters were used for collections with viscous fluid or size ≥ 6 cm in diameter. High-output fistulae and recurrent low-output fistulae had additional catheter cannulation of the enteric hole to facilitate the creation of a controlled enterocutaneous tract. There was no preexisting cutaneous tract before catheter insertion in 23 fistulae. RESULTS: Abscess-fistula complex resolution occurred in 24 patients (88.9%). Of the 3 cases of failure, 2 patients required surgical repair of the fistula, and 1 patient died. Mean number of drainage procedures was 7.0, and mean catheter duration was 76.1 days. There was no significant difference in catheter duration of low-output and high-output abscess-fistula complexes (P = .34); however, high-output patients underwent significantly more procedures (9.1 vs 6.1, P = .025). There were 15 fistulae that were cannulated (11 high-output and 4 low-output fistulae). Cannulated abscess-fistula complexes had significantly longer catheter duration (102.5 d vs 53.2 d, P = .04) and underwent significantly more procedures (8.4 vs 5.4, P = .04). CONCLUSIONS: The catheter management strategy was successful in resolving most abscess-fistula complexes in this series.

Case report: Complex internal mammary to pulmonary artery fistula as a cause of hemoptysis in tuberculosis: Diagnosis and endovascular management using ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer (Onyx).

A complex right internal mammary to right pulmonary artery fistula resulting in hemoptysis was successfully treated by embolization with a liquid, nonadhesive, embolic agent - ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer (Onyx). There were no procedural complications and no recurrence of symptoms has been seen after 2 years of follow-up.

Visceral artery aneurysms: diagnosis and percutaneous management.

Visceral artery aneurysms (VAAs) and visceral artery pseudoaneurysms (VAPAs) frequently present as life-threatening emergencies. VAAs are now being diagnosed with increasing frequency, related to routine use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), and ultrasound. Both surgery as well as endovascular techniques are well established in their management. Endovascular management includes transarterial deployment of coils, N-butyl cyanoacrylate, or stent grafts. Direct percutaneous embolization of visceral aneurysms and pseudoaneurysms may also be performed. Special attention to aneurysmal etiology-congenital, atherosclerotic, infectious, and inflammatory is outlined. Advances in endovascular management with various aneurysmal isolation techniques are discussed. It is concluded that percutaneous endovascular management, now offers a safe and effective alternative to conventional surgery with lower procedural morbidity and mortality and high technical success rates.