Results of treatment of acute arterial thrombosis in patients with severe course of coronavirus infection COVID-19

Abstract

Acute arterial thrombosis against the background of the novel coronavirus infection COVID-19 is an unfavorable complication. The survival prognosis in this category of patients is much worse than in the rest of the patient population. The aim of the work is to compare the immediate results of various methods of treating acute arterial insufficiency in patients with the novel coronavirus infection COVID-19, complicated by the development of acute arterial thrombosis of various localizations. 42 clinical cases of treatment of acute arterial pathology in patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection were analyzed. The severity of the underlying disease was not considered as a criterion for exclusion from the study. Surgical treatment by open intra-arterial thrombectomy under local anesthesia was used in 9 patients. Endovascular balloon angioplasty of arteries followed by selective catheter-guided thrombolysis with alteplase was performed in 17 patients. Sixteen patients received systemic transvenous thrombolysis with the recombinant human tissue plasminogen activator alteplase at a dose of 100 mg. The development of arterial thrombosis against the background of the coronavirus infection is accompanied by a high risk of death in the absence of timely and active specialized care. In the study group, 18 patients (43 %) with acute arterial thrombosis associated with COVID-19 deceased; of these, eight patients underwent open thrombectomy, eight patients had systemic transvenous thrombolysis with alteplase, and two patients underwent endovascular balloon angioplasty with selective catheter-guided thrombolysis with alteplase. A favorable outcome of the disease was noted in 24 patients (57 %); of these, fifteen patients underwent endovascular balloon angioplasty with selective catheter-guided thrombolysis with alteplase, and 8 patients had systemic thrombolysis with alteplase. Optimal treatment results were achieved in the group of patients using minimally invasive endovascular treatment methods in combination with tissue plasminogen activator. In the group of non-transportable patients with grade 3 respiratory failure and high perioperative risks, positive results were achieved exclusively through the use of systemic transvenous thrombolysis. These data allow us to consider justified the use of options for systemic thrombolysis and selective catheter thrombolysis in combination with endovascular reconstruction as an alternative to «open» surgical methods for thevtreatment of acute arterial insufficiency against the background of COVID-19.