Education and Resources


Scientific paper referenced in 2014 FDA Safety Communication

Decision Analysis of Retrievable Inferior Vena Cava Filters in Patients without Pulmonary Embolism
Journal of Vascular Surgery, October 2013
Jose Pablo Morales, MD, Xuefeng Li, PhD, Telba Z. Irony, PhD, Nicole G. Ibrahim, PhD,
Megan Moynahan, MS, and Kenneth J. Cavanaugh Jr, PhD, Silver Spring, Md

In summary, quantitative decision analysis suggests that if the patient’s transient risk for PE (pulmonary embolism) has passed, the risk-benefit profile begins to favor removal between 1 and 2 months.
— Journal of Vascular Surgery, October 2013

Review of 2015 scientific study: 

Effect of a retrievable IVC filter plus anticoagulation vs. anticoagulation alone on risk of recurrent pulmonary embolism

What is the evidence behind the IVC filter?
PulmCrit (Pulmonary Critical Care Blog)
Dr. Josh Farkas, University of Vermont, Department of Medicine

IVC filters offer little benefit for patients who can tolerate anticoagulation. They carry no mortality benefit and may lead to a variety of filter-related complications (e.g. filter fracture, IVC perforation, filter thrombosis, and filter migration). IVC filters seem to increase the risk of DVT. At this point it is unclear whether IVC filters truly reduce the risk of PE.
— Dr. Josh Farkas, Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Vermont, May 2015

NBC Investigative Story on C.R. Bard IVC Filters

 
Even as death and injury reports were climbing, the company decided not to recall the filter
— Stephanie Gosk, Reporter, NBC News