Andrew Hua

Erin Hinckley

Matt Holladay

Christopher Lemoine

Catheter-related thrombosis is a risk for cardiac patients that can have severe complications including death (18% in hemodialysis patients, 40% in nonhemodialysis patients), pulmonary embolism, tricuspid regurgitation, etc. A new device developed by EKOS utilizes ultrasound to aid in thrombolysis. The ultrasound allows deeper penetration of thrombolytic drugs which reduces treatment time and dosage needed for complete thrombolysis. The patient in this case study was a 75 year old man with end stage renal disease on hemodialysis was admitted clotted left upper extremity arteriovenous graft. The EKOS catheter was inserted into the right ventricle and resulted in complete thrombolysis in only 10 hours whereas standard treatment plans require 12-48 hours of treatment. The patient also required only 25mg alteplase whereas standard treatment requires 48mg of alteplase. This device can have great impact in critical care where treating embolisms is frequently a race against time.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5018319/