Rationale and objectives: Many thrombectomy approaches have been developed for the treatment of venous thrombosis; however, no reference standard exists at this time. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the transcutaneous application of electrical discharge-induced shock waves for thrombolysis in an in vitro model.
Methods: Shock waves were applied on a thrombus positioned in a plasma-containing silicon tube using 2 different energy flux densities (0.53 and 2.26 mJ/mm). Depending upon the specific experiment, the thrombus was slightly moved to mimic pulsatory motions or/and additional Actilyse was added. Plasma samples were taken to determine the d-dimers before and after the application of shock waves.
Results: Energy of 0.53 mJ/mm was insufficient for thrombolysis whereas the energy of 2.26 mJ/mm yielded a removal rate of up to 76.4% when the thrombus was slightly moved during the procedure. The amount of d-dimers correlated well with the addition of Actilyse. However, this did not affect the removal rate significantly.
Conclusion: The results demonstrate the potential of electrical discharge-induced shock waves for thrombolysis.