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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2017. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Radiol. Jul 28, 2017; 9(7): 295-303
Published online Jul 28, 2017. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v9.i7.295
Interventional radiology treatment for pulmonary embolism
Miguel A De Gregorio, Jose A Guirola, Celia Lahuerta, Carolina Serrano, Ana L Figueredo, William T Kuo
Miguel A De Gregorio, CIBER BBN - Bioengeering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine [CIBER de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red] C/Monforte de Lemos 3-5, 28029 Madrid, Spain
Miguel A De Gregorio, Jose A Guirola, Celia Lahuerta, Carolina Serrano, Minimally Invasive Techniques Research Group (GITMI), Facultad de Medicina, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Ana L Figueredo, Department of Respiratory, Hospital Miguel Servet, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
William T Kuo, Division of Vascular and Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
Author contributions: All authors were involved in the planning the design and conduct of the review paper; each equally revises the manuscript and approve the final version; De Gregorio MA and Kuo WT conducted the initial research.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Miguel A De Gregorio, Jose A Guirola, Celia Lahuerta, Carolina Serrano, Ana L Figueredo and William T Kuo have no conflicts of interest or financial to disclose related to this review.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Miguel A De Gregorio, MD, PhD, EBIR, FCIRSE, FSIR, Full Professor and Chairman of Interventional Radiology, Minimally Invasive Techniques Research Group (GITMI), Facultad de Medicina, Calle Domingo Miral s/n, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain. mgregori@unizar.es
Telephone: +34-976-765768 Fax: +34-976-765768
Received: January 19, 2017
Peer-review started: January 19, 2017
First decision: March 27, 2017
Revised: April 29, 2017
Accepted: May 18, 2017
Article in press: May 18, 2017
Published online: July 28, 2017
Abstract

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is an illness that has a potentially life-threatening condition that affects a large percentage of the global population. VTE with pulmonary embolism (PE) is the third leading cause of death after myocardial infarction and stroke. In the first three months after an acute PE, there is an estimated 15% mortality among submassive PE, and 68% mortality in massive PE. Current guidelines suggest fibrinolytic therapy regarding the clinical severity, however some studies suggest a more aggressive treatment approach. This review will summarize the available endovascular treatments and the different techniques with its indications and outcomes.

Keywords: Pulmonary embolism, Massive pulmonary embolism, Venous thromboembolism, Pulmonary embolism treatment, Submassive pulmonary embolism, Catheter directed therapy, Interventional radiology

Core tip: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is an illness that is potentially life-threatening condition that affects a large percentage of the global population. VTE is the third leading cause of death related with cardiovascular pathology after myocardial infarction and stroke. This article summarizes the clinical management and emphasizes which interventional treatments that exist and the most effective ones to treat massive and submassive pulmonary embolism.