The objective of this study was to evaluate the immediate efficacy and long
-term results of a standard protocol of percutaneous, low dose, intraarteri
al streptokinase treatment in acute arterial thrombosis. This involved anal
ysis of 48 consecutive patients with acute peripheral arterial thrombosis,
treated with thrombolysis between October 1988 and August 1997. There were
30 men and 18 women patients, with an average age of 66.5 years. There was
thrombosis of the native artery in 32, thrombosis of an aneurysm in seven,
and graft occlusion in nine. After the occlusion was defined by arteriograp
hy, the low-dose streptokinase (10,000 units per hour) was continuously inf
used into the thrombosed segment following a bolus injection of 10,000 unit
s. The initial success rate (defined as partial or complete lysis) was 79.6
%. Additional therapy after lysis consisted of percutaneous transluminal an
gioplasty in 18, bypass surgery in six, anticoagulant therapy in seven, and
amputation in seven owing to irreversible ischemic damage. One patient die
d of myocardial infarction before additional therapy. Of the 20.4% failures
to fibrinolysis, two patients received bypass surgery, two surgical thromb
ectomy, three sympathectomy, and three had amputations. Local bleeding comp
lications were seen in five (10%) patients. Only one patient needed surgica
l exploration. Allergic reaction to streptokinase was seen in five patients
(10%) and fibrinolytic therapy was continued with urokinase in three. In t
he follow-up (1-107 months) eight patients died and three amputations were
performed after a mean time of 17 months after thrombolysis owing to progre
ssion of arteriosclerosis. This resulted in a limb salvage rate of 76% afte
r 1 year and 65% after 5 years (Kaplan-Meier).
Low-dose, local, intraarterial streptokinase therapy is an effective prelim
inary step in management of acute arterial thrombosis. Especially with adeq
uate additional treatment, it is possible to achieve satisfactory long-term
patency rates.