Pulmonary Embolism Response to Fragmentation, Embolectomy, and Catheter Thrombolysis (PERFECT)

Systemic thrombolysis for acute pulmonary embolism (PE) carries up to a 20% risk of major bleeding, including a 2% to 5% risk of hemorrhagic stroke. We evaluated the safety and effectiveness of catheter-directed therapy (CDT) as an alternative treatment of acute PE.One hundred one consecutive patients receiving CDT for acute PE were prospectively enrolled in a multicenter registry. Massive PE (n = 28) and submassive PE (n = 73) were treated with...