Reperfusion of Pulmonary Arteriovenous Malformations Following Embolotherapy: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Detachable Versus Pushable Coils

To compare 1 year post-embolization reperfusion rates in pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs) treated with the 0.035″ Interlock™ Fibered IDC™ Occlusion System coils (IDC) (Boston Scientific, Marlborough, Massachusetts) versus 0.035″ Nester coils (Cook Medical Inc., Bloomington, Indiana). A randomized controlled trial was performed randomizing individual PAVMs to treatment with IDC versus Nester coils at the largest hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia center in Canada. The primary outcome was CT evidence of reperfusion at 1 year. Secondary outcomes included periprocedural complications, fluoroscopy time and contrast volume. Our study was terminated prematurely due to slow recruitment and subsequent expiration of funding. A total of 46 PAVMs in 25 patients (64% female) were included in our study; 26 randomized to Nester coils and 20 randomized to IDC. One patient was lost to follow-up. At a mean follow-up of 421.2 ± 215.7 days, no significant difference in PAVM reperfusion was detected between Nester coils and IDC (0% vs. 5.6%, p > 0.05). No major periprocedural complications were noted in either group. Fluoroscopy time (Nester: 15.0 ± 11.8 min vs. IDC 16.0 ± 5.4 min, p > 0.05) and contrast volume (Nester: 80.3 ± 36.5 ml vs. IDC 87.3 ± 51.7 ml, p > 0.05) utilized did not differ between groups. No significant difference was detected in PAVM reperfusion rates, periprocedural complication rates, contrast volume utilization or fluoroscopy time following embolization with IDC and Nester coils.