[Descriptive study of vascular complications secondary to antithrombotic agents and percutaneous cardiovascular interventionism in a coronary unit].

Administration of drugs in the patients diagnosed of acute coronary syndrome and treated with percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) has noticeably reduced morbidity-mortality and appearance of new ischemic events. However, these drug agents may cause bleeding problems secondary to therapeutic intervention. The objectives of this research are: to know the incidence of vascular complications developed in patients treated with antithrombotic drugs and percutaneous cardiovascular interventionism and describe variables that may be related with their appearance. A retrospective descriptive study was done on the registries of the clinical histories of 153 patients subjected to primary angioplasty and rescue treatment during the period ranging from October 1, 2001 to October 31, 2002 in the Hospital Universitario Marques de Valdecilla. Mean age of the patients was 63 years, 75% diagnosed of acute myocardial infarction and 71% subjected to primary angioplasty. Drugs used were anticoagulants, antiaggregants and fibrinolytics. Furthermore compression methods and arterial sheath duration time were analyzed. Complications appeared in 39% of the patients, the most frequent complication being the hematoma in 28%. It is concluded that when antithrombotic drugs are combined with PTCA, vascular complications appear in one third of the patients studied, the appearance of hematomas standing out in the first place and in the second place, femoral bleeding. The main study variables also contributing to their appearance are the permanence of the sheath and its removal.