LOCAL APPLICATION OF COLLAGEN FOR SEALING ARTERIAL NEEDLE PUNCTURE HOLES AFTER CARDIAC-CATHETERIZATION

Percutaneously introduced absorbable purified bovine collagen was used to plug the hole at the site of femoral arterial puncture in 50 patients (42 men, 8 women; median age 58 [22-75] years) after percutaneous coronary angiography (n = 32; heparin dosage 100 IU/kg) or transluminal coronary balloon dilatation (n = 18; heparin dosage 200 U/kg). Local bleeding ceased after compression of 4 min in 48 of the 50 patients. A pressure bandage was needed additionally in the other two. Bed-rest lasted for 1-24 (median 19) hours. A haematoma of more than 6 cm diameter developed in five patients, but required neither transfusion nor surgical intervention. 39 of the 50 patients were re-examined after a median of 39 days: all of them had had a small pain-free swelling for 2-6 weeks over the Puncture site. One patient developed a deep-vein thrombosis one week after the procedure, in another fever occurred after the same period, lasting for two days. - These early findings are encouraging. The method may significantly shorten the time of arterial compression and bed-rest, as well as reduce the risk of a large haematoma after arterial punctures.