Volume 14, Number 3, May-June 2007

How safe is femoral access? Insights from an audit of contemporary practice
Helen C Routledge, Peter F Ludman, Sagar N Doshi, John N Townend, Nigel P Buller

Complications of arterial access are an important cause of morbidity following percutaneous coronary intervention. Recently published data suggest a rate of around 3.5% of major vascular complications. We present an audit of vascular access site complications in a single centre over a 12-month period. Overall complication rates were low (1.2%) in a centre whose default strategy following femoral artery access is arterial closure using the Perclose™ device. Specific problems using the Starclose™ device in patients treated with abciximab are described. Infected femoral artery haematoma resulted in the most severe complications.

Br J Cardiol 2007;14:165-168.

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