TrapEase vena cava filter: experience in 751 patients.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the clinical safety and efficacy of the TrapEase vena cava filter in a 4-year single-center experience.


METHODS
The clinical and imaging data of 751 patients (384 men; mean age 64 years, range 16-99) who had a TrapEase inferior vena cava (IVC) filter placed between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2004, were reviewed retrospectively. More than a third of patients (297, 39.5%) presented with pulmonary embolism (PE), 188 (25.0%) had deep vein thrombosis (DVT), 40 (5.3%) had both PE and DVT, and the rest (226, 30.1%) had other symptoms. Indications for filter placement were contraindication to anticoagulation (461, 61.4%), complication of anticoagulation (42, 5.6%), failure of anticoagulation (39, 5.2%), and prophylaxis (209, 27.8%). Filters were placed in the infrarenal (n=738) or suprarenal (n=13) position through a femoral (n=729) or jugular vein (n=22) approach. Follow-up computed tomographic (CT) scans of the chest and abdomen were evaluated for recurrent PE and filter-related complications, respectively.


RESULTS
Three (0.4%) patients developed groin hematoma. During a mean 295-day clinical follow-up (range 1-1677), 55 (7.5%) patients developed symptoms of PE, and 1 (0.1%) death was attributed to PE. Chest CT performed for various clinical indications in 219 patients at a mean 192 days (range 1-1346) showed PE in 15 (6.8%) patients; 10 were symptomatic and 5 asymptomatic, but there were no fatalities. Follow-up abdominal CT (n=270) at a mean 189 days (range 1-1415) showed fracture of filter components in 8 (3.0%), thrombus within the filter in 68 (25.2%), thrombus extending beyond the filter in 4 (1.5%), near total caval occlusion in 2 (0.7%), and no cases of migration.


CONCLUSIONS
The TrapEase vena cava filter is effective in the prevention of pulmonary embolism, with minimal complications.
Kalva
Sanjeeva P
SP
Division of Cardiovascular Imaging & Intervention, Departments of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. skalva@partners.org
Wicky
Stephan
S
Waltman
Arthur C
AC
Athanasoulis
Christos A
CA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011475:Prosthesis Failure; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013923:Thromboembolism / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000628:therapy*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016306:Vena Cava Filters; D020246:Venous Thrombosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000628:therapy*