A Contemporary Systematic Review of Surgical Pulmonary Embolectomy and Catheter-based Therapies for Acute Pulmonary Embolism

Mortality in acute pulmonary embolism (PE) is thought to be principally due to the subgroup of PEs that are massive. Systemic thrombolysis is the therapeutic mainstay for acute massive PE, despite evidence suggesting limited survival benefits. Both catheter-based therapies (CBT) and surgical pulmonary embolectomy (SE) are well-accepted alternatives to treat acute PE. However, the comparative effectiveness of these approaches is difficult to study. We conducted a systematic review of CBT and SE for acute PE.
Source: The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery - Category: Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery Authors: Source Type: research