Colin G. Knight, M.D.; Dean A. Healy, M.D.; Ronald L. Thomas, Ph.D.

Abstract

Background/Purpose: Femoral artery pseudoaneurysms (PSA or false aneurysm) develop in about 1% of patients undergoing procedures that require femoral artery cannulation. PSA prolong hospitalization, consuming health care resources, and result in significant morbidity. We designed a study to review the prevalence, risk factors, and treatment of PSA.

Methods: We performed a retrospective, case-controlled study of patients diagnosed with PSA at a large, urban, tertiary-care teaching hospital.

Results: We reviewed 48 patients with PSA for our study. The estimated prevalence of PSA was 0.28% with identical rates found for procedures done in interventional radiology and in the cardiac catheterization suite. Logistic regression identified three independent risk factors for developing PSA: being female (odds ratio 2.62), having an intervention performed (odds ratio 3.22), and not having a closure device used (odds ratio 10.2). Patients with PSA had longer hospital length of stay compared with patients without PSA. We found no statistically significant difference in failure or complication rates for the four treatment options and that spontaneous resolution of PSA does not correlate with its size.

Conclusion: We identified three independent risk factors for developing PSA: female gender, having an interventional procedure, and not having a closure device used. Patients with PSA stay in the hospital almost twice as long as patients who do not develop PSA. Thrombin injection and observation are effective, low-complication treatment options.



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