Faculty mentor/PI email address
tabaza.luai@gmail.com
Keywords
pulmonary embolism, pulmonary thrombectomy, stroke, patent foramen ovale
Date of Presentation
5-6-2026 12:00 AM
Poster Abstract
Background: The incidence of stroke after pulmonary thrombectomy (PT) remains unknown. Given the incidence of patent foramen ovale (PFO) of 25% in autopsy studies, the concern for paradoxical embolus in this patient population warrants evaluation of periprocedural management.
Methods: We queried the EPIC EHR at Virtua Health in New Jersey for all patients who underwent PT from 2021-2025, categorized by utilization of the Inari Flowtriever system or the Penumbra thrombectomy device. We assessed post-PT cerebrovascular accident (CVA), PFO presence by transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE), and gender via descriptive statistics. Age, average anesthesia time and procedure supply cost were assessed via two-sided T tests.
Results: Of 143 patients who underwent PT, 1 patient (0.7%) suffered a post procedural CVA. This patient was noted to have a PFO. 134 of 143 patients did not have PFO evaluated on pre and post procedural TTE. Inari cases had longer anesthesia time (101.4 vs 100.99 min, p=0.0317) .
Conclusion: Given the potential deleterious effects of CVA, we advocate for TTE with bubble study prior to consideration of thrombectomy when able, to inform patients and practitioners of the risks associated with the procedure. Further studies are needed to evaluate which patient subsets are at higher risk for CVA and the efficacy of different stroke risk mitigation strategies in this patient population.
Disciplines
Cardiovascular Diseases | Medicine and Health Sciences | Nervous System Diseases
Incidence of Stroke Post Pulmonary Thrombectomy: Implications for Periprocedural Management
Background: The incidence of stroke after pulmonary thrombectomy (PT) remains unknown. Given the incidence of patent foramen ovale (PFO) of 25% in autopsy studies, the concern for paradoxical embolus in this patient population warrants evaluation of periprocedural management.
Methods: We queried the EPIC EHR at Virtua Health in New Jersey for all patients who underwent PT from 2021-2025, categorized by utilization of the Inari Flowtriever system or the Penumbra thrombectomy device. We assessed post-PT cerebrovascular accident (CVA), PFO presence by transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE), and gender via descriptive statistics. Age, average anesthesia time and procedure supply cost were assessed via two-sided T tests.
Results: Of 143 patients who underwent PT, 1 patient (0.7%) suffered a post procedural CVA. This patient was noted to have a PFO. 134 of 143 patients did not have PFO evaluated on pre and post procedural TTE. Inari cases had longer anesthesia time (101.4 vs 100.99 min, p=0.0317) .
Conclusion: Given the potential deleterious effects of CVA, we advocate for TTE with bubble study prior to consideration of thrombectomy when able, to inform patients and practitioners of the risks associated with the procedure. Further studies are needed to evaluate which patient subsets are at higher risk for CVA and the efficacy of different stroke risk mitigation strategies in this patient population.