Risk Mitigation: Identifying and Creating Evidence-Based Periprocedural Screening and Anticoagulation Guidelines to Reduce Interventional Radiology Bleeding Risks

As image-guided therapeutic and diagnostic procedures have increased in demand, the specific risk factors for periprocedural complications have been poorly defined. To identify risk factors for bleeding because of interventional radiology procedures and for quality assurance purposes, the staff in the Department of Radiology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, created a detailed procedural database in 2003. In addition to documentation of baseline demographic characteristics and procedural details, patients were monitored for 3 days to document any postprocedural complications. The data, including patient follow-up, were collected by radiology registered nurses. Analysis of these data has provided opportunity to identify risk factors for bleeding and to create evidence-based periprocedural screening and anticoagulation guidelines in the practice.