Standard vs. ultrasound-assisted thrombolysis
Sunset sPE, a multicenter, randomized trial investigated whether ultrasound-assisted (USAT) in superior to standard catheter (SCDT) thrombolysis in pulmonary arterial thrombus reduction.
In total, 81 patients were randomized for the trial, which had a primary outcome of 48-hour clearance of pulmonary thrombus and secondary outcomes which included right to left ventricular ratio improvement, intensive care unit, bleeding and other serious adverse events.
The study found no significant difference in mean thrombus score reduction between USAT and SCDT groups, while the obstruction index reduction was also similar between the two.