Interventional therapy for pulmonary embolism.
Venous thromboembolism is a common cause of death. Acute massive pulmonary embolism (PE) is life-threatening and may require vigorous more invasive treatment. Several risk factors are related to increased incidence of massive PE. Anticoagulation is the most traditional treatment for PE but may not suffice in cases of massive PE. Systemic thrombolytic therapy, catheter-directed thrombolysis, percutaneous embolectomy, and more recently, percutaneous thrombus fragmentation techniques with a multitude of devices are now available to treat the most severe cases of massive PE. Successful treatment of PE includes implementation of a treatment protocol and the use of associated techniques and devices.
Department of Radiology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston 29425, USA. uflackrp@musc.edu
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D000800:Angioplasty, Balloon; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002404:Catheterization; D017128:Embolectomy; D004691:Endarterectomy; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000628:therapy*; D015642:Radiology, Interventional; D015912:Thrombolytic Therapy / Q000379:methods
D000925:Anticoagulants