Jindong Wan1,2, Fei Ran1,2, Siwei Xia1,2, Jixin Hou1,2, Dan Wang1,2, Sen Liu1,2, Yi Yang1,2, Peng Zhou1,2, Peijian Wang3,4. 1. Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, 610500, Sichuan, China. 2. Key Laboratory of Aging and Vascular Homeostasis of Sichuan Higher Education Institutes, The First Affiliated Hospital, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, 610500, Sichuan, China. 3. Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, 610500, Sichuan, China. 23772194@qq.com. 4. Key Laboratory of Aging and Vascular Homeostasis of Sichuan Higher Education Institutes, The First Affiliated Hospital, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, 610500, Sichuan, China. 23772194@qq.com.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Adrenal vein sampling (AVS) is the preferred method for subtyping patients with primary aldosteronism, while the procedure is technically challenging. This study evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of a single-catheter approach for AVS. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 106 consecutive patients who underwent AVS was performed to determine the procedural success and complication rates. Bilateral AVS procedures were performed using a single 5-Fr Tiger catheter with repeated manual reshaping. RESULTS: We successfully advanced the catheter into the bilateral adrenal veins of all patients and reached a 90.6% procedural success rate of AVS. The procedural period was 33.0 ± 8.2 min, the fluoroscopy period was 5.8 ± 1.7 min, and the diagnostic contrast used was 17.3 ± 5.5 ml. Only one patient (0.9%) had a hematoma at the femoral puncture site. No other complications were observed. The operation period gradually shortened as the cumulative number of operations increased. The number of procedures required to overcome the learning curve was about 33 cases. CONCLUSIONS: The single-catheter approach is feasible and effective for AVS. Moreover, this approach required a relatively short learning curve for an inexperienced trainee.
BACKGROUND: Adrenal vein sampling (AVS) is the preferred method for subtyping patients with primary aldosteronism, while the procedure is technically challenging. This study evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of a single-catheter approach for AVS. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 106 consecutive patients who underwent AVS was performed to determine the procedural success and complication rates. Bilateral AVS procedures were performed using a single 5-Fr Tiger catheter with repeated manual reshaping. RESULTS: We successfully advanced the catheter into the bilateral adrenal veins of all patients and reached a 90.6% procedural success rate of AVS. The procedural period was 33.0 ± 8.2 min, the fluoroscopy period was 5.8 ± 1.7 min, and the diagnostic contrast used was 17.3 ± 5.5 ml. Only one patient (0.9%) had a hematoma at the femoral puncture site. No other complications were observed. The operation period gradually shortened as the cumulative number of operations increased. The number of procedures required to overcome the learning curve was about 33 cases. CONCLUSIONS: The single-catheter approach is feasible and effective for AVS. Moreover, this approach required a relatively short learning curve for an inexperienced trainee.