Haematoma after coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention via the femoral artery frequency and risk factors.

BACKGROUND

The most common complication after coronary angiography (CA) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is the development of haematoma. Several changes in procedures regarding CA and PCI have been made in our department in recent years. The aim of this audit is to establish how many patients develop haematoma after CA/PCI via the femoral artery and subsequently to find predictors that increase the risk of developing haematoma.

METHODS

We initially included 474 consecutive patients-322 patients undergoing CA and 141 patients undergoing PCI. Eleven patients were later excluded due to the absence of complete data. Thirty-three variables were registered in order to find predictors, which might increase the haematoma frequency. A univariate as well as a multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed.

RESULTS

Of the 463 patients, 6 patients developed a haematoma >10 cm (1.3%) and 41 patients developed a haematoma >5 cm (8.9%). The following factors were found to be associated with the generation of haematoma: Women, systolic blood pressure >160 mm Hg, artery puncture >1, sheath time >16 min, ACT > or = 175 s, Glycoprotein (GP) IIB/IIIa inhibitors, Low Molecular Weight Heparin before procedure, personnel change during compression, and anti-coagulant-treatment before procedure.

CONCLUSIONS

The frequency of haematoma was 1.3% (>10 cm) and 8.9% (>5 cm), which corresponds with reports from similar studies and departments. The factors found to increase the risk of haematoma development can provide background for procedural changes and increase the focus on patients at increased risk in order to minimize the development of haematomas.