Recent THRIVE study data show that Penumbra’s computer-assisted vacuum thrombectomy (CAVT) technology not only has the potential to improve outcomes for lower extremity acute limb ischaemia (LE-ALI) patients, but may also reduce healthcare resource use, thus potentially lowering overall costs for the healthcare system.
The latest data were presented at the 2025 Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM; 4–7 June, New Orleans, USA) by Charles Bailey (Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA).
The data show that US patients who underwent a CAVT procedure to manage LE-ALI had significantly shorter length of stays, higher discharge-to-home rates, reduced complications, and fewer related readmissions compared to other modalities.
“The THRIVE analysis reveals that LE-ALI patients who receive advanced therapies, such as CAVT, ultimately experience fewer complications and utilise fewer hospital resources compared to embolectomy,” said Bailey. “By showing important benefits for both patient care and healthcare system economics, these findings support the continued adoption of CAVT as a frontline therapy for LE-ALI.”
The THRIVE study compared CAVT to embolectomy alone and embolectomy with adjunctive bypass, and the results showed that CAVT was associated with:
- A 99.1% limb salvage rate
- 2.3 to 2.4 times lower amputation rate
- 46–75% higher rate of patients discharged to home
- 26–46% shorter total hospital length of stay
- 33–55% lower 30-day LE-ALI-related readmission rate, excluding mortality
The researchers performed the analysis by utilising the Vizient clinical database to identify adult patients discharged with LE-ALI over a three-year period. Sg2, a Vizient company, used propensity score matching at a 1:1 ratio based on demographics and comorbidities, payer, and hospital type to match CAVT patients (Lightning 7 and Lightning 12) to embolectomy alone and embolectomy with adjunctive bypass patients, and completed the analysis with 2,619 patients in total.
