PROSPECTIVE RANDOMIZED COMPARATIVE-STUDY OF PULSE-SPRAY AND CONVENTIONAL LOCAL THROMBOLYSIS

Objectives: To compare the rime required to achieve lysis with the pul se spray technique and the conventional slow continuous infusion techn ique. Design: Prospective randomised open Study. Methods: Eighteen pat ients suitable for intra-arterial thrombolytic therapy with convention al and pulse spray technique were randomised 1:1 to receive either pul se spray thrombolysis with 0.33 mg/ml rt-PA injected as a bolus of 0.2 ml or conventional thrombolysis with 0.05 mg/ml rt-PA infused at a ra te of 10 ml/h. Results: The age, duration of symptoms, length of occlu sion and prethrombolysis ankle brachial pressure index were comparable in the two groups. The median duration of thrombolytic therapy in the pulse spray group was 195 min (range 90-1260) compared to 1390 min (r ange 300 - 2400) in the Conventional group. The difference between the two groups was significant, p<0.002 (Mann-Whitney test). Conclusions: Significantly shorter lime is required to achieve local thrombolysis with pulse spray compared to the conventional infusion method.