Outcome of revascularization procedures for peripheral arterial occlusive disease in Ontario between 1991 and 1998: a population-based study

PURPOSE: We describe the outcome of revascularization procedures used to treat peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD), using population-based administrative data. METHODS: A retrospective population-based cohort study utilizing administrative databases in Ontario, Canada, was conducted for fiscal years 1991 to 1998 to identify patients who underwent arterial bypass surgery and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty to treat PAOD. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate cumulative survival rate and amputation-free survival rate. To analyze factors that affect these rates, multivariate analysis was performed with Cox proportional hazard models. RESULTS: Over the study period 15,824 patients underwent bypass operations and 11,548 underwent angioplasty. For patients who underwent bypass surgery, 5-year cumulative survival rate was 61.5% and major amputation-free survival rate was 83.4%, compared with 69% and 92.2%, respectively, for patients who underwent angioplasty. Male sex, older age, diabetes, and heart disease were associated with increased risk for death after revascularization procedures. Increased risk for major amputation after revascularization procedures was associated with male sex, older age, and diabetes, whereas hypertension was linked to decreased risk. CONCLUSION: To evaluate the long-term outcome of revascularization procedures for PAOD at the population level, survival and major amputation-free survival rates should be used, because they provide more clinically accepted estimates compared with the correlation between utilization rates for revascularization and amputation procedures, which have been used to describe outcome in previously published reports in the literature.     

Cost-identification analysis of revascularization procedures on patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease

Objective: To determine average total in-hospital costs of various revascularization procedures for peripheral arterial occlusive disease; to examine the effect of procedure-related complications and patient characteristics on these costs; and to examine whether costs have changed over time. Methods: We collected cost data on all admissions involving one revascularization procedure for peripheral arterial occlusive disease at the Brigham and Women's hospital from 1990 through 1995 (n = 583). The main outcome measures were total costs per admission in 1995 US dollars and length of stay in days. Results: For each of 12 different procedures identified, total costs per admission varied considerably. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to determine the effect of local and systemic complications and of patient characteristics on total in-hospital costs per admission. The additional cost incurred for fatal systemic complications was $11,675 (P = .004) and for nonfatal systemic complications was $9345 (P < .001). The results demonstrated significant additional costs with management of critical ischemia versus intermittent claudication ($4478, P < .001), presence of coronary artery disease ($1287, P = .05), female sex ($1461, P = .03), and advanced age ($1345, P = .02). No statistically significant changes over time were demonstrated. Conclusion: Total in-hospital costs per admission for peripheral revascularization procedures are highly variable and significantly increased by procedure-related complications, advanced age, female sex, management of critical ischemia, and presence of coronary artery disease. (J Vasc Surg 1998;28:617-23.)     

Endovascular procedures for peripheral arterial disease

Since the introduction of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) for peripheral arterial disease in the mid-1970s, PTA on occlusive ilio-femoral arterial lesions has become a widely accepted technique. As endovascular techniques have the advantage of lower morbidity and mortality risk compared with open surgical revascularizations. PTA has been applied for the treatment of focal disease. During the past 10 years, stents have played an important role in ameliorating long-term PTA results preventing recoil and PTA-related flow-limiting dissection. Moreover, intravascular ultrasound scanning provides an accurate measurement of the diameter of the diseased arteries and can be used to evaluate plaque morphology and provide structural information assessing the adequacy of stent deployment. Thus PTA procedures with primary stenting extend the indication for more diffuse, multilevel, complex, or totally occluded atherosclerotic segments. Combined surgical and endovascular procedures are increasingly being employed for the common occurrence of multilevel disease in patients with critical limb ischemia. Intimal hyperplasia is thought to be the most important cause of in-stent restenosis following stent deployment. An increase in cell number in the inner intima and accumulation of matrix around stents have been observed in resected arterial specimens with in-stent lesions, which could be prevented by radiation therapy or sirolimus-eluting stents in the very near future.     

Antiplatelet therapy in peripheral occlusive arterial disease

BACKGROUND: Antiplatelet therapy (APT) in patients with peripheral occlusive arterial disease (POAD) may reduce cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality by inhibiting atherothrombosis. This article reviews the current evidence for APT in patients with stable POAD and in patients undergoing revascularization procedures for POAD. METHODS: A Medline and Pubmed literature search (January 1966 to February 2003) was conducted to identify articles relating APT and POAD. Manual cross referencing was also used. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Meta-analyses suggest that APT (most commonly aspirin) in patients with stable POAD significantly reduces the incidence of nonfatal stroke, myocardial infarction and CV death. However, this conclusion is based on subset analysis of data predominantly involving patients with coronary and cerebrovascular atherosclerosis. There is a little direct evidence for the use of aspirin in patients with isolated POAD, but in practice, aspirin remains the most commonly used antiplatelet agent as high rates of coronary and cerebrovascular diseases are observed in this patient population. For patients with POAD without additional indicators of vascular risk, the protective effect of aspirin is unclear and dependent on the balance of risks and benefits in the individual patient. For patients undergoing peripheral revascularization, ticlopidine and aspirin in combination with dipyridamole are effective in maintaining patency after bypass procedures and following angioplasty/femoral endarterectomy. The efficacy of thienopyridines in peripheral angioplasty is uncertain, and the optimum timing and duration of APT relative to intervention are not known.     

��Χ���������Լ������������

周围动脉闭塞性疾病主要包括：动脉栓塞、动脉硬化闭塞症、血栓闭塞性脉管炎及大动脉炎等，他们的发病机制虽有不同，但均会出现动脉缺血症状．外科治疗办法有许多共同之处。目前主要的外科治疗方法有以下几种。     

Current status of thrombolysis for peripheral arterial occlusive disease

Acute peripheral arterial occlusion occurs as a result of thrombosis or embolism. A reduction in the prevalence of rheumatic heart disease accounts for a shift in the frequency of embolic to thrombotic occlusions. Also, a dramatic increase in the number of lower extremity arterial bypass graft procedures explains the predominance of graft occlusions in most recent series of patients with acute limb ischemia. While open surgical procedures remain the gold standard in the treatment of peripheral arterial occlusion, thrombolytic agents have been employed as an alternative to primary surgical revascularization in patients with acute limb ischemia. Systemic administration of thrombolytic agents, while effective for small coronary artery clots, fails to achieve dissolution of the large peripheral arterial thrombi. Catheter-directed administration of the agents directly into the occlusive thrombus is the only means of effecting early recanalization. Prior to 1999, urokinase was the sole agent used in North America for peripheral arterial indications, but the loss of the agent from the marketplace forced clinicians to turn to alternate agents, specifically alteplase and reteplase. Interest in the use of platelet glycoprotein inhibitors and mechanical thrombectomy devices also rose, coincident with the loss of urokinase from the marketplace. Most clinicians welcome the predicted return of urokinase to the marketplace. New investigative trials should be organized and executed to answer some of the remaining questions related to thrombolytic treatment of peripheral arterial disease. Foremost in this regard remains the question of which patients are best treated with percutaneous thrombolytic techniques and which are best treated with primary operative intervention. Ultimately, however, the thrombolytic agents are but one tool in the armamentarium of the vascular practitioner. This review is directed at providing the practicing clinician with the basic fund of knowledge necessary when determining the most appropriate intervention in a particular patient with peripheral arterial occlusion, be it thrombolytic therapy, percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy, primary surgical revascularization, or a combination of the three.     

Distal aortic diameter and peripheral arterial occlusive disease

OBJECTIVE: Several studies have reported an association between abdominal aortic dilatation and peripheral arterial occlusive disease. Narrowing of aortic diameter, also called abdominal aortic hypoplasia, and peripheral arterial occlusive disease have received insufficient attention. Precise estimates of the relationship between aortic hypoplasia and peripheral arterial occlusive disease are lacking. In this study, we assessed the relationship between abdominal aortic diameter and peripheral arterial occlusive disease. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed 1572 patients 18 to 79 years of age, newly referred to the vascular center of our hospital with clinically manifest atherosclerotic arterial disease or for treatment of cardiovascular risk factors. Diameter measurements were used to subdivide patients according to tertiles of abdominal aortic diameter. Peripheral arterial occlusive disease was assessed by adjusted Rose questionnaire, ankle-brachial pressure index, and the presence of gangrene or leg ulcers. RESULTS: Compared with patients with normal aortic diameter, peripheral arterial occlusive disease was twice as prevalent in patients at both ends of the aortic diameter spectrum. When the lowest tertile was compared with the middle tertile in male patients, the adjusted odds ratio was 1.7 (95% CI, 1.0-3.1). When the highest tertile was compared with the middle tertile, the adjusted odds ratio was 2.1 (95% CI, 1.2-3.4). Similar results were found in female patients. The adjusted odds ratio of lowest versus middle tertile was 2.4 (95% CI, 1.1-5.0) and 1.8 (95% CI, 0.8-4.0) when the highest tertile was compared with the middle tertile. CONCLUSION: The risk of peripheral arterial occlusive disease was increased in the lower and upper distribution of aortic diameter. Apparently, both patients with an aortic diameter too large and patients with an aortic diameter too small are prone to peripheral arterial occlusive disease. This is the first large study that shows that small aortic diameter is associated with peripheral arterial occlusive disease.     

下肢动脉粥样硬化闭塞症手术治疗和介入治疗的现状和评价

以动脉粥样硬化闭塞症（atherosclerosis obliterans,ASO）为主的周围动脉性疾病（peripheral arterial disease,PAD）的发病率正逐年上升,已成为危害人类健康的重要疾病之一。PAD主要发生于下肢,其中约30％发生在髂动脉,70％化于股,腘及以远动脉,单纯小腿动脉病变者仅占15％。     

Hyperhomocysteinemia and risk for peripheral arterial occlusive disease in young women

OBJECTIVE: Few studies to date have examined the relationship between hyperhomocysteinemia and peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) in young women. In this study we assessed hyperhomocysteinemia as a risk factor for PAOD in young women. In addition, we evaluated the effect of joint exposure to hyperhomocysteinemia and traditional risk factors. METHODS: Two hundred twenty women, ages 18 to 49 years, with PAOD and 629 healthy women (control group) from a population-based case-control study filled out the same structured questionnaire and donated venous blood samples for determination of plasma homocysteine levels. Hyperhomocysteinemia was defined as nonfasting total plasma homocysteine level above the 90th percentile of the control range. RESULTS: Young women with hyperhomocysteinemia had a 2.5-fold (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.7-3.9) increased risk for PAOD. When presence of hyperhomocysteinemia was combined with presence of a traditional risk factor, relative risk strongly increased in smokers (odds ratio [OR], 18.9; 95% CI, 8.3-42.9) and in women with hypertension (OR, 10.3; 95% CI, 5.4-19.8), hypercholesterolemia (OR, 8.5; 95% CI, 4.2-17.1), and diabetes (OR, 8.9; 95% CI, 1.7-46.9). CONCLUSIONS: Hyperhomocysteinemia is a risk factor for PAOD in young women. There is a strong synergistic effect between hyperhomocysteinemia and all traditional vascular risk factors. Our findings may have implications for risk management in these young women.     

Pulse oximetry: a new non-invasive assessment of peripheral arterial occlusive disease

Peripheral skin perfusion reflects the level of vascularity and viability of a limb and may help in planning the site of amputation or bypass surgery in patients with vascular disease. This study used peripheral pulse oximetry in 20 healthy volunteers and in 20 patients with limb ischaemia. Pulse oximetry saturation levels (Psa,O2) were compared with ankle artery Doppler pressures and transcutaneous oxygen measurements (Ptc,O2). Recordings were taken at two standard sites distally and referenced to finger and forearm to calculate an index. A significant correlation was found between Ptc,O2 and Psa,O2 in patients with ischaemia (r = 0.68, P less than 0.01). A further group of 12 patients with acute limb ischaemia was similarly assessed before and after revascularization. After revascularization mean(s.d.) Ptc,O2 increased from 38(13) to 44(1) mmHg (P greater than 0.05) and mean(s.d.) Psa,O2 increased from 86(3) to 90(4) per cent (P less than 0.01). These data suggest that pulse oximetry is a more sensitive index of peripheral perfusion than Ptc,O2 or ankle artery Doppler pressure and that, because of its accuracy and simplicity, it merits further use.     

Homocysteine levels and peripheral arterial occlusive disease: a prospective cohort study and review of the literature

AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia in a population with peripheral vascular occlusive disease in Kuwait. METHODS: From November 2000 to May 2002, total serum homocysteine levels were measured in 172 consecutive patients admitted to the vascular surgery unit because of peripheral vascular arterial disease. A fluorescence polarization immunoassay was used for measuring total serum homocysteine levels. Serum homocysteine levels over 15 mol/L were considered as high. RESULTS: The mean ankle-brachial index was 0.59+/-0.2 and 0.55+/-0.2 for right and left legs, respectively. The mean serum homocysteine level was 14.9+/-4.7 mol/L (range, 4.2-50.0). High homocysteine levels were found in 70 out of 172 patients (40.7%). The prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia was significant in patients with hypertension (P=0.03) and ischaemic heart disease (P=0.04). Binary logistic regression model showed that male gender, diabetes mellitus and hypertension were significant independent predictors for high levels of homocystinemia in peripheral vascular occlusive disease [adjusted odds ratio (OR) 2.90; 95% confidence interval (CI); 1.18-7.12; P=0.02]; [0.35 OR; 95% CI; 0.15-0.79; P=0.01] and [2.12 OR; 95% CI; 0.98-4.59; P=0.05], respectively. Diabetes was significant but appeared to protect for peripheral vascular occlusive disease in patients with high levels of serum homocysteine. CONCLUSION: Elevated homocysteinemia was found in 40.7% of patients suffering from peripheral vascular disease. In this cohort, male gender, diabetes and hypertension were found to be risk factors along with elevated homocysteine levels.     

周围动脉硬化闭塞症腔内治疗的解读与展望

周围动脉硬化闭塞症(peripheral alterial occlusive disease,PAOD)是常见的周围血管疾病,近年来在世界范围内以其高发生率和广泛累及率严重危及人们的身心健康和生存质量.目前在全世界人口中约2.4%患有PAOD,其中40～50岁为5%,51～70岁为10%,＞70岁为30%;甚至有学者预测2030年后,德国将有近34%的人口受到PAOD影响[1].尽管目前在我国没有具体统计数据,但其高发病率在临床实践中已受到关注.     

Reproducibility of noninvasive tests of peripheral occlusive arterial disease

We studied the reproducibility of four tests of peripheral occlusive arterial disease in 54 subjects, 32 of whom had this disease. We found that the reproducibility of systolic blood pressures obtained at rest from the thighs, calves, and ankles approximated that of arm systolic and diastolic blood pressures, as did the ankle-to-arm systolic blood pressure ratios. The average of the tenth and ninetieth percentile ranges of the resting systolic blood pressure ankle-to-arm ratios was +/- 0.10. Systolic blood pressures from the fingers were somewhat less reproducible, and those from the toes were even more variable. Systolic blood pressure ankle-to-arm ratios measured after the patient had exercised were less reproducible than resting ratios. The average of the tenth and ninetieth percentile ranges of the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-minute ratios after exercise was -0.13 to +0.16. Skin temperatures from the fingers and toes were approximately as reproducible as systolic blood pressures from the arms and legs and as the resting ankle-to-arm blood pressure ratios. Pulse-volume recordings from the thighs, calves, ankles, feet, toes, and fingers were very poorly reproducible. We conclude that information on the reproducibility of these measurements is essential in the evaluation of noninvasive arterial tests that are used to determine the course of peripheral occlusive arterial disease.     

Endogenous heparin activity is decreased in peripheral arterial occlusive disease

BACKGROUND: Naturally occurring heparin-like activity in the form of endogenous heparin and heparin sulfate proteoglycans has been shown in normal human plasma. Exogenous low-dose heparin improves pain-free walking distance and maximum walking distance in peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD). Is reduced endogenous heparin activity responsible for some of the problems found in PAOD? This study compared heparin-like activity in patients with PAOD with that in healthy subjects and explored its relationship to disease severity. METHODS: In part 1, native and heparinase-modified thromboelastography was performed on peripheral venous blood samples in three groups of patients to measure heparin-like anticoagulant activity. Group 1: 15 control subjects (median age, 60 years; range, 49-74 years; ankle-brachial pressure index [ABPI] >0.9); group 2: 14 patients with intermittent claudication (median age, 66 years; range, 56-80; ABPI, 0.69 [SD, 0.09]); group 3: 14 patients with rest pain (median age, 67.5 years; range, 54-84 years; ABPI, 0.45 [SD, 0.08]). In part 2, heparin equivalent to that in normal plasma was added to blood samples from 15 patients with short-distance claudication (n = 4) or rest pain (n = 11), and baseline (without heparinase) thromboelastography was performed to exclude lack of antithrombin as a cause of diminished heparin-like activity. RESULTS: In part 1, all patients with PAOD had a significant increase in coagulability compared with controls. Heparinase-modified thromboelastography in controls showed a significant decrease in the latent period between placing the sample in the analyser, where it is recalcified, to the initial fibrin formation (DeltaR time; P = .002) compared with native TEG, confirming endogenous heparin-like activity. Using DeltaR time as a measure of heparin-like activity, a significant reduction was found in patients with claudication (0.33 minutes; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.004-0.65; P = .02) and in those with rest pain (0.25 minutes; 95% CI, -0.02 to 0.52; P = .02) compared with that in controls (0.78 minutes; 95% CI, 0.39-1.16). The DeltaR time also correlated with the ABPI (r = 0.35, P = .02), suggesting declining heparin-like activity with increasing ischemia. In part 2, exogenous heparin restored the thromboelastography in PAOD patients to normal, suggesting that lack of endogenous heparin-like compounds rather than reduced antithrombin levels was responsible for changes in coagulation. CONCLUSION: Patients with PAOD have reduced endogenous heparin-like activity that correlates with disease severity.     

Percutaneous angioplasty for peripheral arterial occlusive disease. Correlates of clinical success

We reviewed 142 percutaneous transluminal angioplasties (PTAs) in the iliac (n = 94) and femoropopliteal (n = 48) positions of 107 patients. Emphasis was placed on the ultimate clinical outcome, which was determined from a pool of clinical, hemodynamic, and angiographic data. Limb-threatening ischemia was the indication for intervention in 53% of the cases. The median follow-up interval was 17 months. Overall success was achieved in 50% of cases in both iliac and femoral positions at one year after PTA. The following factors were found to correlate with a successful clinical outcome: PTA for claudication vs limb-threatening ischemia (P less than .001); focal as opposed to diffuse stenosis or occlusion (P less than .02); immediate return of distal pulses (P less than .001); the absence of diabetes (P less than .05); and the presence of a patent outflow tract (P less than .001). Treatment results with PTA will vary widely according to the nature of the patient population and the criteria for determining success.