Incidence and management of limb ischemia with percutaneous wire-guided intraaortic balloon catheters

In 103 patients who underwent placement of 106 percutaneous wire-guided intraaortic balloon catheters between August 1983 and January 1986, all placements were successful and the average duration of counterpulsation was 3.4 +/- 1.6 days. During counterpulsation, 45 patients developed limb ischemia that required premature balloon removal in 29 patients. The development of limb ischemia was significantly related to the presence of diabetes (risk ratio 2.0), peripheral vascular disease (risk ratio 1.9), female gender (risk ratio 1.8) and the presence of a postinsertion ankle-brachial pressure index less than 0.8 (risk ratio 7.9). There was no association between the development of limb ischemia and age, body surface area, balloon size (10.5F/12F) or adequacy of anticoagulation. Fifteen patients underwent vascular surgery for treatment of balloon-related limb ischemia, which was associated with one operative death. Nine patients had persistent limb ischemia (seven asymptomatic, two symptomatic) at the time of hospital discharge. Improvements in wire-guided balloon technology have increased the probability of successful balloon placement over that of surgical placement and have reduced the incidence of major aortic injury, but there is no evidence that these improvements have reduced the incidence of limb ischemia or its sequelae. This should be borne in mind before proceeding with balloon insertion in patients with one or more risk factors for developing limb ischemia.

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