Critical Care

official impact factor 4.60

Commentary

To plug or not to plug?

Joseph Varon1* and Robert E Fromm2

Author Affiliations

1 Professor, The University of Texas Health Science Center, St Luke's Episcopal Hospital, Houston, Texas, USA

2 Associate Professor, Baylor College of Medicine, The Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas, USA

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Critical Care 2004, 8:87-88 doi:10.1186/cc2829

Published: 24 February 2004

Abstract

Coronary artery disease remains a common problem in industrialized countries. Percutaneous coronary interventions are usually performed utilizing the femoral approach. Arterial puncture-closing devices have been developed in hope to avoid manual compression and shortening the period of rest. In a recent meta-analysis in the Journal of the American Medical Association these devices have shown only marginal benefits over manual compression. Further, well designed studies are necessary to document the comparative effects of these devices versus manual compression.

Keywords:
arterial puncture; coronary artery disease; hemostasis; percutaneous coronary angioplasty