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Query: UMLS:C0034065 (pulmonary embolism)
 14,979 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) is a thrombolytic agent characterized by elevated but not absolute fibrin specificity. However, its therapeutic dose is high and associated with a variable degree of systemic activation of the fibrinolytic system. Thrombolytic drugs are widely used in acute myocardial infarction and have now begun to be considered for deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), and peripheral artery thrombosis (PAT) as well. Although anticoagulant therapy is effective in reducing the immediate complications of venous thromboembolism, thrombolytic therapy has various advantages over anticoagulant therapy, including lysis of thrombi with recanalization of venous circulation, reduction of venous valve damage and prevention of post-phlebitic syndrome. The different dosage regimens of rt-PA recently evaluated (0.71 to 1.76 mg/kg/24 h for 2-4 days) in DVT have caused consistent thrombolysis but also excessive bleeding. The optimal therapeutic range for rt-PA in DVT remains to be determined. Thrombolytic therapy is superior to heparin treatment only in hemodynamically compromised patients with massive PE. The minor systemic fibrinolytic effect and the faster action on thrombi of rt-PA compared with the first generation thrombolytic agents, streptokinase (SK) and urokinase (UK), are very interesting and explain the positive results recently obtained in PE with this drug (50 mg over 2 h, followed, if necessary, by 40-50 mg over 4-5 h) by Goldhaber and Verstraete.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:[rt-PA in extracardiac thromboembolic vascular occlusions]. 211 73

A case of pulmonary embolism associated with diabetes insipidus is reported in an 18-year-old male. The patient, who had been treated with DDAVP for diabetes insipidus and hydrocortisone for hypocorticism for two years after first operation for the removal of craniopharyngioma, was admitted with recurrence of that tumor. Diabetes insipidus immediately after second operation was controlled with intermittent drip infusion of a small amount of aqueous pitressin under monitorings of body weight hourly using a patient weighing system to keep the weight changes within +/- one kilogram. Serum and urine electrolytes levels, osmolarity, and free water clearance were also monitored every three hours to maintain water-electrolytes balances appropriately. Postoperative course had been uneventful except that CSF rhinorrhea occurred 7 days after operation. The patient was, then, kept in bed with horizontal plane to avoid further leakage of CSF. Two days later, he developed chest pain suddenly with tachypnea, tachycardia, and general cyanosis. The arterial-BGA showed PaO2 of 53.5mmHg and PaCO2 of 35.3mmHg in room air. The definite diagnosis of pulmonary embolism was made by technetium microaggregate lung perfusion scans and by pulmonary angiograms. The patient was treated with heparin, 15000IU/day, and urokinase, 720000IU/day. The symptoms due to pulmonary embolism had improved gradually within a couple of weeks. Recent articles have shown an unexpected high incidence of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in neurosurgical patients associated with the elevation of blood coagulability. Brain tumors, especially suprasellar mass with hypothalamic dysfunction have been suggested to cause thromboembolic disorders frequently. The clinical course was described and factors causing pulmonary embolism on this patient was discussed.
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PMID:[A case of pulmonary embolism with diabetes insipidus developed after removal of craniopharyngioma]. 233 47

Acute fatal pulmonary embolism is one cause of sudden death which should be guarded against. It is the most often missed diagnosis in sudden death cases within the hospital. Clinical pictures of 10 patients with acute fatal pulmonary embolism proved by autopsy were examined to elucidate the problems of diagnosis, and to look for an effective treatment, and a method of prevention. Common risk factors were old age and immobility due to stroke or postoperative state. Common past histories were hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity, atrial fibrillation and hyperlipidemia. Electrocardiogram and echocardiogram showed that in these patients there was definite evidence of acute right ventricular overload. High doses of intravenous urokinase should be given whenever acute cardiovascular collapse develops in such high risk patients. Emergent pulmonary angiogram and pulmonary embolectomy could be life-saving in patients with acute massive pulmonary embolism. Prevention is, however, the best treatment. In addition to anticoagulation medication, frequent change of body position and early mobilization are important precautions to prevent fatal pulmonary embolism developing in such patients.
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PMID:[Acute fatal pulmonary embolism: its prevention, diagnosis and treatment]. 236 72

A 19-year-old girl had for four weeks the clinical signs of recurrent pulmonary emboli and deep-vein thrombosis (tachycardia, dyspnoea, right inguinal pain), which had been misdiagnosed. The correct diagnosis was made only after drastic deterioration in her condition following appendicectomy for falsely diagnosed appendicitis. Urokinase infusion (80,000-160,000 IU/h for 11 days) having failed to bring about improvement, much greater than ultra-high much less than thrombolysis with streptokinase was begun (250,000 IU streptokinase over 30 min, followed by 9 million IU over 6 hours). Fatal pulmonary embolism occurred seven hours after the end of the infusion. Autopsy revealed extensive separation of thrombotic material in the pelvic veins. This observation and other reports should serve as a warning against using streptokinase in ultra-high doses if large veins, as those in the pelvis, are involved.
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PMID:[Fatal pulmonary embolism in venous thrombosis of the leg and pelvis during lysis therapy]. 237 66

The use of thrombolytic therapy to treat AMI has reawakened interest in thrombolysis for acute pulmonary embolism (PE). We have investigated the use of recombinant human tissue-type plasminogen activator (rtPA) in patients with acute PE. In an open label study, rtPA achieved more than 90% efficacy and safety. In a trial comparing rtPA with an FDA-approved dose of urokinase (UK), rtPA appeared more rapid and safer. We are now conducting a comparative trial of rtPA with a novel dosing regimen of UK. In addition, a concurrent trial is comparing rtPA vs heparin for improvement in right ventricular function, assessed by echocardiography, among PE patients. However, the greatest challenge in PE research is to undertake a large-scale trial that compares thrombolysis and heparin for reduction of clinically relevant end points such as mortality and recurrent PE.
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PMID:Tissue plasminogen activator in acute pulmonary embolism. 249 13

Many investigators have reported about beneficial results with thrombolytic therapy in patients with acute pulmonary embolism. Streptokinase and urokinase have been used for more than 15 years, but the conditions of use of these agents still remain controversial. Optimal dosage and treatment schedule are still evolving. For streptokinase most investigators adopt a fixed dosage schedule: a loading dose of 250,000 units followed by a maintenance infusion of 100,000 units per hour for 24 to 72 hours. For urokinase numerous dosage regimens have been used such as: high dosage schedule 4,400 units per kilogram per hour for twelve to 24 hours with or without loading dose; moderate dosage 1,600 to 2,000 units per kilogram per hour for 24 hours and low dosage in bolus. With these treatments there is a trend to reduced in-hospital-mortality in massive pulmonary embolism; the early pulmonary revascularization and the hemodynamic improvement are higher than those noticed with heparin. These results are obtained with a minimum of complication essentially bleeding in 10 or 15%; most bleeding being located at puncture site. More recently, new thrombolytic agents have been used in acute pulmonary embolism. Only four studies have tested rt-PA which is effective and relatively safe, but the optimal dose regimens remain to be determined. Less information is available concerning Anisoylated Plasminogen Streptokinase Activator Complex (APSAC), the angiographic improvement seems to be rapid and important (50% on average) but the decrease of fibrinogen is important too and comparable with streptokinase. Considering the good results of thrombolytic treatment of acute submassive and massive pulmonary embolism, there is a doubt as to whether the pulmonary embolectomy has any place in the pulmonary embolism patients except in those with cardiac arrest. In the near future new thrombolytic drugs could be more efficient on pulmonary embolism and deep venous thrombosis, and thus the bleeding risk might be decreased.
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PMID:Thrombolytic treatment of acute pulmonary embolism. 250 Mar 88

The age of the thrombus is probably a very important determinant of the outcome of thrombolysis. The clinical potential for rapidly dissolving thrombi by thrombolytic therapy is considerable because restoration of the blood flow can rescue the jeopardized district served by the occluded vessel such as for myocardial infarction, deep vein thrombosis, arterial thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and occlusion of retinal vessels. Defibrotide was effective against 3-, 7-, or 10-day-old thrombi; its ED50s were 32, 65, or 118 mg/kg-1 hour-1, respectively, suggesting that the age of the thrombus could play a role in the outcome of thrombolysis. A similar pattern was also shown for urokinase.
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PMID:Thrombolytic activity of defibrotide against old venous thrombi. 251 Mar

In the 1970s controlled studies in acute massive and submassive pulmonary embolism demonstrated by angiography, scintiscan and hemodynamic measurements that urokinase (UK) and streptokinase (SK) induce a more rapid dissolution of thrombotic material in the pulmonary circulation than heparin. Thousands of individuals would have been needed to prove a statistically significant reduction in the relatively low mortality (10-20%) in the study population. However, in massive pulmonary embolism with right ventricular overload, the advantage of thrombolysis is clearly evident. As confirmed by treatment series of varying size, SK and UK usually require 1-3 days for extensive clearance accompanied by impressive functional improvement. If contraindications are observed and invasive procedures avoided, the bleeding risk is acceptable. Acute severe pulmonary embolism with marked pulmonary hypertension but stable circulation should be treated with conventional doses of SK or UK for several days. In cases with unstable circulation or established shock vital improvement may be obtained by bolus injection (into pulmonary artery, right atrium or i.v.) of 2 m I.U. UK or by short i.v. infusion of 100 mg tissue plasminogen activator. Rapid reduction of pulmonary vascular resistance to a less critical value will prevent right ventricular decompensation and save time for embolectomy or subsequent conventional thrombolytic therapy.
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PMID:[The value of thrombolysis for the treatment of acute pulmonary embolism]. 251 56

Pulmonary embolism can produce severe cardiopulmonary dysfunction characterized by pulmonary artery hypertension, right ventricular failure, and hypoxemia. The search for the source of a pulmonary embolus, by exploration of the veins of the lower limbs and the inferior vena cava should be systematically carried out in all cases of pulmonary embolus which are not immediately life-threatening to the patient. The treatment of deep vein thrombosis associated with pulmonary embolism with thrombolytic agents has been proposed and utilized for approximately 20 years. Although superior results have been claimed with thrombolytic agents, the use of this type of treatment remains limited to massive or sub-massive pulmonary embolism. Fibrinolytic agents with high specificity for fibrin in the thrombi and little systemic activation of the fibrinolytic system have been developed and tested in preliminary clinical trials of patients with acute pulmonary embolism. The largest published experience available has been with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA). The acylated streptokinase-plasminogen complex (APSAC) and pro-urokinase also gave promising results. All these agents were accompanied by unexpectedly high incidence of systemic activation of the fibrinolytic system and by hemorrhagic complications with frequencies similar to those that follows the use of first generation products (urokinase and streptokinase). Hence, their superior clinical efficacy must be clearly proven before they are substituted for a more widely available and less expensive drug, such as streptokinase.
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PMID:Pathogenesis and management of acute pulmonary embolism. 251 49

The importance of the fibrinolytic treatment in deep venous thrombosis, to avoid the mortal pulmonary embolism, among other complications, is commented on. The results in 32 patients, presenting deep venous thrombosis and treated with loco-regional Urokinase, are presented. Author carries out some commentaries about surgical and medical treatment.
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PMID:[Loco-regional fibrinolysis with urokinase in the treatment of deep venous thromboses]. 261 Apr 1


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