Safety and Risk of Superselective Transcatheter Arterial Embolization for Acute Lower Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage with N-Butyl Cyanoacrylate: Angiographic and Colonoscopic Evaluation.

PURPOSE: To retrospectively evaluate the safety and risk of transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) with N-butyl cyanoacrylate (NBCA) for urgent acute arterial bleeding control in the lower gastrointestinal tract by angiography and colonoscopy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: NBCA TAE was performed in 16 patients (mean age, 63.7 y) with lower gastrointestinal bleeding (diverticular hemorrhage, tumor bleeding, and intestinal tuberculosis). Angiographic evaluation was performed by counting the vasa recta filled with casts of NBCA and ethiodized oil (Lipiodol) after TAE. Patients were classified as follows: group Ia, with a single vas rectum with embolization of 1 branch (n = 6); group Ib, with a single vas rectum with embolization of ≥ 2 branches (n = 8); group II, with embolization of multiple vasa recta (n = 2). All patients underwent colonoscopy within 1 month, and ischemic complications (ulcer, scar, mucosal swelling, fibrinopurulent debris, and necrosis) were evaluated. RESULTS: The procedure was successful in all patients. No ischemic change was observed in any patients in group Ia and in two patients in group Ib. Ischemic changes were observed in six group Ib patients and both group II patients. Group Ib patients experienced ischemic complications that improved without treatment. One patient in group II underwent resection for intestinal perforation after embolization of three vasa recta. One patient in group II with sigmoid stricture with embolization of six vasa recta required prolonged hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: NBCA embolization of ≥ 3 vasa recta can induce ischemic bowel damage requiring treatment. NBCA TAE of one vas rectum with ≥ 2 branches could also induce ischemic complications. However, these were silent and self-limited.

Transcatheter arterial embolization of acute arterial bleeding in the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract with N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate.

PURPOSE: To assess the clinical utility and safety of transcatheter arterial embolization with N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate (NBCA) for urgent control of acute arterial bleeding in the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Therapeutic NBCA embolization was performed in 37 patients (39 cases; mean age, 67.8 years) with acute upper (n = 16) or lower (n = 23) gastrointestinal tract bleeding after endoscopic management had failed. Transcatheter arterial embolization was performed using 1:1 to 1:5 mixtures of NBCA and iodized oil. The most common etiologies of bleeding were colonic diverticulosis (n = 13), malignancy (n = 11), and benign ulcer (n = 7). Coagulopathy was present in 11 patients, and 23 patients were hemodynamically unstable before NBCA embolization. Histologic examination for bowel ischemia was also performed in five patients who underwent excision of the lesion after NBCA embolization. RESULTS: The technical success rate was 100%. Recurrent bleeding occurred in two patients. Complete hemostasis was achieved in all 11 patients with coagulopathy. Ulcers induced by transcatheter arterial embolization were noted in 6 of 20 patients who underwent endoscopic examination; the ulcers were successfully treated with conservative measures. Histologic examination revealed that despite inflammatory reactions in and around the vessels, no intestinal necrosis secondary to NBCA embolization was found. Hepatic abscess occurred in two cases, and ischemia of the lower limb occurred in one case; these complications were managed by percutaneous drainage and bypass surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Transcatheter arterial embolization with NBCA is a good treatment option with a high rate of complete hemostasis and a low recurrent bleeding rate, even in patients with coagulopathy.