The Vascular Disease Research Center
at Rhode Island Hospital

Acute Venous Thrombosis: Thrombus Removal with Adjunctive Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis (the ATTRACT Trial)

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) occurs in up to 300,000 Americans yearly and carries high cost and morbidity. Current treatment does not adequately address the long-term damage clots cause to veins. Up to 60 percent of patients develop chronic leg symptoms as a result. Studies suggest that rapid clot removal may decrease these long-term problems in addition to more quickly relieving acute pain and swelling.

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) occurs in up to 300,000 Americans yearly and carries high cost and morbidity. Current treatment does not adequately address the long-term damage clots cause to veins. Up to 60 percent of patients develop chronic leg symptoms as a result. Studies suggest that rapid clot removal may decrease these long-term problems in addition to more quickly relieving acute pain and swelling. 

The ATTRACT study is a Phase III, open-label, assessor-blinded, randomized controlled trial comparing invasive treatment (percutaneous catheter-directed thrombolysis (PCDT)) of Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT) plus standard DVT therapy (anticoagulation and compression stockings) to standard DVT therapy alone. Both treatments being evaluated are approved by the FDA for this purpose and are available outside of research. Approximately 692 patients ranging from 16-70 years of age will enrolled in the study at 28 enrolling sites.   

Patients presenting with clinical manifestations of acute DVT of the lower extremity (pain, swelling, signs of decreased blood-flow) who meet inclusion criteria will be selected and followed for two years post-enrollment.

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