Thrombectomy use increasing to treat VTE

The use of arterial and venous thrombectomy to treat blood clots has increased significantly over the past five years, according to research presented November 30 at the RSNA meeting. Stephanie McNamara, PhD, of Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, presented a study that found procedure rates for venous thromboembolism (VTE) increased by 75% between 2017 and 2022. However, these rates remain low considering the total number of cases per year, McNamara said. “The incidence of [venous thromboembolism] is expected to grow, creating opportunities to expand the use of these noninvasive procedures,” she noted in a poster presentation. An estimated one million VTE events occur annually in the U.S., McNamara said. VTE occurs when blood clots form in the veins, usually in the deep veins of the legs, and then break loose. These clots can travel through the bloodstream and lodge in the lungs, causing pulmonary embolism, for instance. While anticoagulant medications to prevent further clot formation is a primary treatment in nonemergency cases, the use endovascular procedures such as arterial and venous thrombectomy to treat more severe cases has become increasingly common, according to McNamara. These minimally invasive procedures involve inserting a catheter through a vein in the groin. The catheter is guided by x-ray to the site of the clot where it is then removed. To shed light on current and anticipated claims trends, the researchers searched commercial and Medicare payer ...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Interventional Source Type: news