Caval Penetration by Inferior Vena Cava Filters

Abstract

Articles that met the inclusion criteria were reviewed. A standard-ized data extraction database was created by tabulating the follow-ing information: first author; year of publication; title; journal; study design (prospective, retrospective, or case report); number and model of IVC filters; number of patients with imaging or surgical follow-up; cases of penetration; imaging findings; clinical symptoms; interven-tions; and clinical outcomes. Two investigators conducted the litera-ture search independently to verify data accuracy and completeness, with a third reviewer resolving any uncertainties. The formal defini-tion of penetration provided by Society of Interventional Radiology guidelines (the extension of a limb >3 mm beyond the cava wall) was used in this study. 1 Major complications of IVC penetration were defined as admission to a hospital for therapy (for outpatient proce-dures), an unplanned increase in the level of care, prolonged hospital-ization, permanent adverse sequelae, or death after filter placement. 1 The quality of clinical studies and case reports was assessed with the Grading of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE), with study and report quality categorized as high, moderate, low, or very low. 4 Results The initial search for " IVC " and " filter " yielded 1511 English reports from January 1, 1970, to December 31, 2014. Of the 1511 reports, a total of 1311 studies were excluded, which included 146 review articles, 1158 studies Figure 1. Screening and selection of the literature.