Ultrasound Delivery of Clot-Busting Agents May Decrease Risk of Bleeding in Thrombolysis

Delivering clot-busting drugs with an ultrasound-enhanced delivery system could reduce the amount of drugs needed to break up dangerous blood clots in the legs and pelvis.

According to researchers who presented a live case demonstration at the 21st annual International Symposium on Endovascular Therapy (ISET) January 2009 in Hollywood, FL, USA, which was viewed by hundreds of endovacular specialists, Constantino Peña, M.D., an interventional radiologist from Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute (Miami, FL, USA), treated a 74-year-old male with a blocked leg artery. Dr. Peña delivered the drug Tenecteplase (TNK) to the clot via ultrasound-accelerated catheter-directed thrombolysis, and the clot was completely dissolved upon examination 12 hours later.

In a discussion of the live case, Dr. Peña indicated that the amount of TNK used to dissolve the clot was half what is typically used. Lowering the amount of drug needed to dissolve clots can significantly reduce the risk of major bleeding, according to Barry Katzen, M.D., founder and medical director of Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute.

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Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute