Safety and efficacy of percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy in the treatment of acute medium- or high-risk pulmonary embolism: a single-center retrospective cross-sectional study.

Background: Patients with acute and high-risk pulmonary embolism have a high mortality rate, and the optimal treatment for these patients has still not been fully established. Although anticoagulation therapy is currently the preferred treatment for pulmonary embolism, for some patients with intermediate- or high-risk pulmonary embolism, anticoagulation therapy alone has a higher probability of long-term pulmonary hypertension and also seriously worsens the quality of life of patients. This paper mainly reports the efficacy and safety of percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy (PMT) in patients with acute medium- or high-risk pulmonary embolism in Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province so as to provide some clinical basis for the treatment of such patients in the future.

Methods: This study mainly collected the clinical data of 43 patients who were admitted to Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province from May 2018 to May 2023 due to acute medium-to-high-risk pulmonary embolism and received PMT treatment. Preoperative and postoperative blood tests, vital signs, and echocardiographic parameters were compared. The incidence of intraoperative and postoperative complications in follow-up at 1, 6, and 12 months was also recorded. Mechanical treatment included thrombus fragmentation complemented with aspiration.

Results: Among the 43 patients, 22 patients were treated with thrombus fragmentation coupled with a pigtail catheter and aspiration using a 6-F multipurpose angiographic (MPA) catheter, 11 were treated by AngioJet, and 10 were treated with an AcoStream catheter. Local thrombolysis treatment with small dose of urokinase was administered in some patients according to the patient's risk of bleeding. Among the patients, 41 patients received a successful operation, representing a surgical success rate of 95.3%. There was one patient with pulmonary infection who died after discharge. There were significant differences in vital signs between the 48-hour preoperative timepoint and the 48-hour postoperative timepoint including cardiac index, pulse, mean arterial pressure, and oxygen saturation (P<0.001). The blood test indicators of carbon dioxide partial pressure and creatinine level did not show obvious abnormalities, but differences in hemoglobin, oxygen partial pressure, and lactate level were statistically significant. In terms of cardiac ultrasound, pulmonary artery pressure and right atrial diameter change were significantly different (P<0.001). There were seven cases of local hematoma at the puncture site, three cases of infection at the puncture site, and nine cases of transient cardiac arrest during the operation. All 41 patients were followed up: one patient died after being discharged due to aggravation of pulmonary infection during hospitalization, one patient died of intracerebral hemorrhage 9 months after the operation, one patient developed recurrent pulmonary embolism, and five patients had no obvious improvement in chest tightness.

Conclusions: PMT can be used as a safe and effective treatment option for acute medium-to-high-risk pulmonary embolism.