Stenting improved outcomes in patients with chronic obstruction of the inferior vena cava (IVC), according to a retrospective analysis of medical records from March 2010 to September 2015.
In the study, 19 of 20 patients with chronic IVC obstruction had successful stent placement, with most resulting in improved and sustained clinical outcomes. The study, conducted by Ole Jørgen Grøtta, MD, and colleagues, was reported in the European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery (2017;54:620-8).
Dr. Grøtta and colleagues investigated 11 men and 9 women patients, with a median age 43years, and with venography-verified chronic IVC obstruction. Most patients also were screened and found to be positive for thrombophilia. Median follow-up was 25 months (range, 3-70 months).
The researchers reported on 13 patients with IVC occlusion and 7 with stenosis. Patient clinical status and symptom severity was assessed according to standardized CEAP (clinical, etiology, anatomy and pathophysiology) classification and the venous clinical severity score (VCSS), respectively. Sixteen patients presented chronic venous disease (CVD) symptoms in their lower limbs; of these, nine exhibited symptoms of an acute thrombosis and, based on their symptoms, seven were assigned to a specific CEAP category, ranging from C3-C6. The additional four patients included in the study had been referred to receive endovascular treatment intervention based on symptoms consistent with physical activity–related reduced cardiac preload.
A total of 13 of 19 (68%) patients showed sustained and significant clinical improvement, seen as a shift from the baseline VCSS score of 8.5 down to 7.0 (P = .007) at final follow-up. This included all four of the patients identified as having reduced cardiac preload problems. The authors also reported that here were no periprocedural or long-term complications.
The need for an alternative treatment for patients with chronic obstruction of the IVC is exemplified by typically poor sustained clinical improvement outcomes and/or gradual clinical deterioration when using the traditional conservative approach of anticoagulants combined with compression stockings, according to the authors.
“The endovascular approach with stent placement for chronic IVC obstructions is a safe treatment alternative that should be offered to patients who otherwise have little opportunity for clinical improvement,” they concluded.
The authors reported that they had no conflicts of interest.