Objective: to compare the incidence of vascular complications in patients undergoing
transfemoral cardiac catheterization with a 6F introducer sheath followed by
3-hour versus 5-hour rest. Methods: randomized clinical trial. Subjects in the intervention group (IG) ambulated 3
hours after sheath removal, versus 5 hours in the control group (CG). All patients
remained in the catheterization laboratory for 5 hours and were assessed hourly,
and were contacted 24, 48, and 72 h after hospital discharge. Results: the sample comprised 367 patients in the IG and 363 in the GC. During cath lab
stay, hematoma was the most common complication in both groups, occurring in 12
(3%) IG and 13 (4%) CG subjects (P=0.87). Bleeding occurred in 4 (1%) IG and 6
(2%) CG subjects (P=0.51), and vasovagal reaction in 5 (1.4%) IG and 4 (1.1%) CG
subjects (P=0.75). At 24-h, 48-h, and 72-h bruising was the most commonly reported
complication in both groups. None of the comparisons revealed any significant
between-group differences. Conclusion: the results of this trial show that reducing bed rest time to 3 hours after
elective cardiac catheterization is safe and does not increase complications as
compared with a 5-hour rest. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT-01740856