Bowel Penetration by Inferior Vena Cava Filters: Feasibility and Safety of Percutaneous Retrieval.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and technical feasibility of inferior vena cava filter (IVCF) removal when filter elements penetrate adjacent bowel. MATERIALS AND METHODS. A multicenter retrospective review of IVCF retrievals between 2008 and 2018 was performed. Adult patients with either CT or endoscopic evidence of filter elements penetrating bowel before retrieval were included. Technical success of IVCF retrieval was recorded. Patient records were assessed for immediate, 30-day, and 90-day complications after retrieval. RESULTS. Thirty-nine consecutive adult patients (11 men and 28 women; mean age, 51.2 years; age range, 18-81 years) qualified for inclusion. Filter dwell time was a median of 148 days (range, 32-5395 days). No IVCFs were known to have migrated or caused iliocaval thrombosis. Five IVCFs (12.8%) had more than 15° tilt relative to the inferior vena cava (IVC) before retrieval. Three IVCFs (7.7%) had fractured elements identified at the time of retrieval. Mean international normalized ratio (INR) was 1.24 ± 0.53 (SD), and mean platelet count was 262 ± 139 × 103/µL. Ten patients (25.6%) were on antibiotics at the time of retrieval. All 39 IVCFs were successfully retrieved (technical success = 100%). Two patients experienced minor complications in the immediate postprocedural period, which resulted in a minor complication rate of 5.1%. There were no complications (major or minor) identified in any patient at 30 or 90 days after retrieval. The overall major complication rate was 0%. CONCLUSION. Endovascular retrieval of IVCFs with CT evidence of filter elements that have penetrated adjacent bowel is both safe and technically feasible.

Recommendations for Low-Grade Carotid Stenosis Follow-up Based on a Single-Institution Database.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine the incidences and rates of progression of varying degrees of carotid stenosis that do not require intervention according to the Asymptomatic Carotid Atherosclerosis Study, the European Carotid Surgery Trial, and the North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial, and from this information, to provide evidence-based recommendations for follow-up imaging. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed of all carotid ultrasound examinations performed at a single institution from January 1995 through April 2015. Examinations following endarterectomy or stenting were excluded. Stenoses were classified by a modification of the criteria of Bluth et al (Radiographics 1988; 8:487-506). A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed for stenosis progression and to provide information for follow-up recommendations. RESULTS: Most of the carotid arteries (91.6%) reviewed for this study showed 1% to 39% stenosis. However, only 6.8% of carotid arteries with 1% to 39% stenosis progressed compared to 38.9% of carotid arteries with 40% to 59% stenosis. A table of evidence-based follow-up recommendations is provided for patients with varying levels of stenosis. CONCLUSIONS: We provide evidence-based follow-up recommendations for patients who have low degrees of carotid stenosis. Different degrees of carotid stenosis progress at different rates and therefore should be followed at different intervals. Additionally, the most patients in our database showed 1% to 39% stenosis and did not have any follow-up imaging, suggesting that carotid ultrasound may not be overused for low degrees of stenosis.