Pressure wire kinking, entanglement, and entrapment during intravascular ultrasound studies: A potentially dangerous complication

The simultaneous use of intravascular ultrasound catheters and sensor-tipped guidewires is gaining acceptance during coronary interventions as a means to gain further insights on the significance of coronary stenoses. Herein we describe four patients in whom the distal tip of the pressure wire became entrapped during an intravascular ultrasound examination. In the four patients, a localized kinking of the pressure wire initially prevented the removal of the imaging catheter and eventually the wire-catheter assembly had to be retrieved as a unit into the guiding catheter. In one patient, unraveling of the distal part of the pressure wire was noticed. In two patients, a complete loop with further kinking of the pressure wire was induced during the maneuvers performed to withdraw the imaging system. Three patients experienced transient angina. Although in our patients this technical problem was not associated with any clinical sequelae, interventional cardiologists should be aware of the potential complications associated with the combined use of these two intracoronary diagnostic tools.