Early versus late thrombolysis in acute arterial occlusion of lower extremity

Background Acute arterial occlusion in lower extremity is an urgent condition which occurs when there is an abrupt interruption of blood flow into an extremity. Reperfusion through early intervention can increase limb salvage and decrease mortality. There was no common agreement when is the best to start thrombolysis in treating acute arterial occlusion. This study was designed to study the efficacy of an early thrombolysis compared with a late thrombolysis. Method We identified all patients discharged from the Gwangju Veterans hospital with a diagnosis of acute arterial occlusion between 2006 and 2014. 72 patients were eligible, and every patient had treated with catheter-directed thrombolysis on the day or 1day after admission. Among them, 42 patients had undergone an early thrombolysis (less than 7days after the onset of symptoms) and the other 30 patients had undergone a late thrombolysis (more than 7days after the onset of symptoms). The primary outcome was amputation rate at 6months. The secondary outcomes were all cause mortality at 6months and increase of ankle brachial index (ABI). Results Amputation rate at 180days in the early thrombolysis group was 7.1% as compared with 30% in the late thrombolysis group. All cause mortality at 6months and increase of ABI were not different between two groups. In multivariable Cox-regression analysis, late thrombolysis was independent predictor of amputation at 6months. Conclusion Early thrombolysis was superior in preventing amputation than late thrombolysis.