LYSIS OF INTRAVASCULAR THROMBUS PRIOR TO CORONARY STENTING USING THE DISPATCH INFUSION CATHETER

The presence of angiographic evidence of thrombus is generally thought to be a contraindication to coronary stent placement. This report des cribes four patients in whom angiographic thrombus was lysed using the Dispatch infusion catheter prior to coronary stenting. Urokinase was infused via the Dispatch catheter with resolution of angiographic evid ence of thrombus in all cases. No complications were encountered using this technique, and all patients had excellent aniographic results af ter stenting. We conclude that lysis of intracoronary thrombus using t he Dispatch infusion catheter is feasible and appears safe in this sma ll study. Further trials are needed to determine if this technique red uces the acute stent thrombosis rate compared to other techniques for stent deployment in the presence of angiographic evidence of thrombus. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.