Abstract 16030: Efficacy and Safety of Catheter Directed Thrombolysis in Intermediate to High-Risk Pulmonary Embolism: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials

Background: Systemic anticoagulation (SA) is the standard treatment for acute pulmonary embolism (PE). The role of catheter directed thrombolysis (CDT) in addition to SA in intermediate-high risk PE remains unclear.

Methods: Three randomized controlled trials comparing CDT+SA versus SA alone in intermediate-high risk PE were included in the analysis using databases including Embase, PubMed and Cochrane databases (inception June 01, 2023). The primary outcome was 90-day all-cause mortality. The secondary outcomes were major bleeding, number of patients with RV/LV ratio >0.9 at 3 months, and vascular access complication. The outcomes were reported as relative risk (RR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) using random effects model.

Results: The analysis comprised of 179 patients with 88 in the CDT group and 79 in the SA group. There was no significant difference in 90-day all-cause mortality (RR: 0.19, 95% CI, 0.02-1.64, p=0.30) among both the groups. Similarly there was no significant difference in major bleeding (RR: 1.20, 95% CI, 0.03-46.18 p= 0.92), RV/LV ratio >0.9 at 3 months (RR: 0.70, 95% CI, 0.41-1.21p=0.2) and vascular access complications (RR: 2.51, 95% CI, 0.44-14.35 p= 0.30).

Conclusions: Our study found no significant advantage of CDT+SA versus SA alone in patients with intermediate-high risk PE. Given the scarcity of randomized data, we emphasize the need for a large-scale randomized trial to investigate the long-term effects of CDT in this population.