the patency rate of endovascular procedure in patients with superior vena cava syndrome caused by intravenous catheterization: a case series and longitudinal study

Introduction: different methods have been well addressed in literature in terms of treating superior vena cava (svc) syndrome; nevertheless, the patency of endovascular treatment has rarely been investigated in patients with svc syndrome in patients with central venous access. objectives: the present study was performed to assess the patency rate of endovascular procedure in patients with svc syndrome caused by intravenous catheterization. methods: the present case series and longitudinal study was conducted on patients with svc syndrome in presence of central venous catheter who underwent venoplasty. computed tomography (ct) venography was performed 1, 6 and 12 months after venoplasty. facial swelling, facial discomfort, extremity edema, arteriovenous fistula (avf) dysfunction, impairment in dialysis and svc stenosis were measured at baseline and 1, 6 and 12 months after venoplasty. results: out of 20 investigated patients, 11 (55%) were male. significantly decreases were observed in the median grades of facial swelling and extremity edema in the follow-up (p<0.001). the decrease in facial discomfort was statistically insignificant (p=0.129), and the median grade of svc stenosis significantly decreased from 1.5 to zero in the follow-up (p<0.001). a statistically-significant decrease was observed in avf dysfunction (p=0.007), and impairment in dialysis significantly decreased after the intervention during the follow-up (p<0.001). conclusion: findings of the present study revealed the appropriate patency rate of endovascular treatment in patients with svc syndrome in presence of central venous catheter.