Researchers analyzed data from 1,018 patients with intermediate-risk pulmonary embolism to compare different treatments. They looked at two specific methods: low-dose systemic thrombolysis and ultrasound-assisted catheter-directed thrombolysis (USAT). These were compared against standard anticoagulation alone or full-dose thrombolysis.
The findings showed that low-dose systemic thrombolysis resulted in a lower risk of major bleeding when compared to full-dose treatment. However, the study did not find a significant difference in mortality or recurrence rates between low-dose thrombolysis and other treatments. For patients receiving USAT, there was a reduction in 1-month mortality compared to anticoagulation alone.
It is important to note that some findings are based on limited data. Specifically, the lower mortality rate for USAT came from only one non-randomized study, so more high-quality trials are needed to confirm this result. While low-dose treatment may offer a safety advantage regarding bleeding, its effectiveness in preventing death or recurrence compared to other methods is not yet fully established.
