Dr. Riyaz Bashir Offers Expert Insight to TCTMD about Study on IVC Filter Use and Retrieval

Riyaz Bashir, MD, FACC, Director of Vascular and Endovascular Medicine at Temple University Hospital and Professor of Medicine at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, offered expert insight to TCTMD.com about the SAFE-IVC study, which found that the use of inferior vena cava (IVC) filters declined substantially over a recent eight-year period, and while retrieval rates went up in that time, just one in seven indwelling filters were retrieved in a timely manner after insertion. IVC filters are used to prevent pulmonary embolism in patients with venous thromboembolism and contraindications to anticoagulation, as well as those who have failed anticoagulation. Physicians are advised to remove IVC filters as soon as clinically feasible.