Key result
Heparinized saline flush post-phlebography is linked to lower DVT incidence of ~3% versus historical controls.
Why the study?
The incidence of postphlebographic venous thrombosis after leg phlebography using ionic contrast media without heparin flushing was high and needed improvement.
Does flushing veins with heparinized saline reduce the incidence of postphlebographic venous thrombosis in patients undergoing leg phlebography?
Observational (n=60)
Does flushing veins with heparinized saline reduce the incidence of postphlebographic venous thrombosis in patients undergoing leg phlebography?
Flushing veins with heparinized saline after leg phlebography using ionic contrast media appears to considerably improve safety by reducing the incidence of deep venous thrombosis.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Heparin flush may lower postphlebographic DVT risk; leaves open whether benefit holds in randomized trials.
The incidence of postphlebographic venous thrombosis was investigated by 125I-labeled fibrinogen uptake tests in 60 patients whose veins were flushed with saline solution containing 10,000 IU of heparin after leg phlebography. Ionic methylglucamine iodamide was used as the contrast medium. In six patients superficial thrombophlebitis extending from the contrast-medium injection site was observed after phlebography. The incidence of deep venous thrombosis was 3.3%, significantly less than that reported for studies using triiodinated ionic contrast media without flushing the veins with a heparin solution. It is comparable to the incidence of venous thrombosis reported after using nonionic contrast media. The authors conclude that flushing the veins with heparinized saline solution can improve the safety of phlebography considerably.
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Minar et al. (1984) conducted an observational in Postphlebographic venous thrombosis (n=60). Heparin flush (saline solution containing heparin) vs. Historical studies without heparin flush was evaluated on Deep venous thrombosis. Flushing veins with 10,000 IU of heparinized saline after leg phlebography resulted in a 3.3% incidence of deep venous thrombosis, significantly lower than historical rates without flushing.
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