Summary: Inferior vena cava (IVC) filter has been used to manage patients with pulmonary embolism and deep venous thrombosis. Its ease of use and the expansion of relative indications have led to a dramatic increase in IVC filter placement. However, IVC filters have been associated with a platitude of complications. Therefore, there exists a need to examine the current indications and identify the patient population at risk. In this paper, we comprehensively reviewed the current indications and techniques of IVC filter placement. Further, we examined the various complications associated with either permanent or retrievable IVC filters. Lastly, we examined the current data on filter retrieval.

Purpose: To prospectively compare calf muscle BOLD MRI with transcutaneous oxygen pressure (TcPO₂) measurement in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and healthy volunteers and thereby get insight into the pathogenesis of vasculopathy in this connective tissue disorder.Materials and Methods: Twelve patients with SSc (6 women and 6 men, mean age 53.5 ± 10.0 years) and 12 healthy volunteers (4 men and 8 women, mean age 47 ± 12.1 years) were examined using muscle BOLD MRI and TcPO₂. A cuff compression at mid‐thigh level was performed to provoke ischemia and reactive hyperemia. BOLD measurements were acquired on a 3 Tesla whole body‐scanner in the upper calf region using a multi‐echo EPI‐sequence with four echo‐times (TE: 9/20/31/42 ms) and a repetition time of 2 s. Empirical cross‐correlation analysis depending on time lags between BOLD‐ and TcPO₂‐measurements was performed.Results: Maximal cross‐correlation of BOLD T2*‐ and TcPO₂‐measurements was calculated as 0.93 (healthy volunteers) and 0.90 (SSc patients) for a time lag of approximately 40 s. Both modalities showed substantial differences regarding time course parameters between the SSc patients and healthy volunteers.Conclusion: Skeletal muscle BOLD MRI correlated very well with TcPO₂. T2* changes seem to reflect reoxygenation deficits in deeper muscle tissue of SSc patients. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2013;38:845–851.