title: Outcomes of catheter-directed treatment of lower extremity deep vein thrombosis of patients presenting to a tertiary care hospital.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lower extremity deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a common illness with an annual incidence of 1 per 1000 adults. The major long-term complication of DVT is post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS) which occurs in up to 60% of patients within 2 years of an episode of DVT.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We aim to evaluate the outcomes of catheter-directed treatment (CDT) for symptomatic acute or subacute lower extremity DVT.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective 12-year study was conducted on the outcomes of CDT on 54 consecutive patients who presented with acute or subacute lower extremity DVT to our hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive summary statistics and the Chi-square test were used to measure the outcomes of CDT.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Grade 3 thrombolysis was achieved in 25 (46.3%) patients, grade 2 thrombolysis in 25 (46.3%) patients, and grade 1 thrombolysis in 4 (7.4%) patients. Significant recanalization (grade 2 or 3 thrombolysis) was possible in 50 (92.6%) patients. There was no statistically significant difference in the percentage of significant recanalization that could be achieved between patients who underwent CDT before and after 10 days. There was no significant difference between the thrombolysis achieved between urokinase and r-tPA. PTS was seen in 33% of the patients. Major complications were seen in 5.5% of the patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CDT is a safe and effective therapeutic technique in patients with acute and subacute lower extremity DVT, if appropriate patient selection is made.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Gaurav
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sundar
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Shyamkumar N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Keshava
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Vinu
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Moses
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: George K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Chiramel
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Munawwar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Suraj
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mammen
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular Surgery, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Sunil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aggarwal
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular Surgery, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Edwin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stephen
keywords: Catheter-directed treatment; deep vein thrombosis; thrombolysis