Prognostic Factors in Hemodialysis Patients Undergoing Endovascular Treatment for Critical Limb Ischemia due to Isolated Below-the-Knee Disease

AIM

To investigate the prognosis and to clarify the predictors of both patient and limb survival among hemodialysis (HD) patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI) due to isolated below-the-knee (BK) disease.

METHODS

An observational cohort study, analyzing a total of 546 HD patients with 681 limbs who underwent endovascular treatment (EVT) for CLI with isolated BK disease at 11 hospitals in Japan between March 2004 and June 2011, was performed.

RESULTS

The mean patient age was 69.0±9.5 years, and 420 (76.9%) of the subjects were men. The number of patients classified with Rutherford stage 4, 5 and 6 disease was 103 (18.9%), 332 (60.8%) and 111 (20.3%), respectively. The mean HbA1c level was 6.48±1.20%, and 195 (35.7%) of the subjects were active smokers. During the follow-up period (mean: 557.5 days), 191 (35.0%) patients died and 82 (12.0%) limbs underwent major amputation. The freedom from all-cause death was 75.5%, 53.4% and 36.9% and freedom from major amputation was 86.7%, 83.9% and 83.9% at one, three and five years after EVT, respectively. Cox proportional hazard regression analyses revealed that a non-ambulatory status, low serum albumin level and ＜2 runoff vessels after EVT were significant predictors for both all-cause death and major amputation.

CONCLUSIONS

Although patient survival remains poor, the limb salvage rate after EVT is favorable among those on HD with CLI due to isolated BK disease. The present results allow for the risk stratification of HD patients with CLI undergoing EVT for isolated BK disease.

Effect of Cilostazol Following Endovascular Intervention for Peripheral Artery Disease

Efficacy of endovascular therapy (EVT) with nitinol stents for femoropopliteal (FP) lesions is limited by restenosis. Oral cilostazol reduces angiographic restenosis rate; however, treatment duration remains unclear. In a retrospective analysis of a multicenter database of 3471 consecutive limbs in 2737 patients (mean age: 72 ± 9 years; 61% diabetic; and 26% on regular dialysis) undergoing EVT for FP lesions between January 2004 and December 2011, we compared Kaplan-Meier estimated primary patency after EVT followed or not by cilostazol treatment. We used Cox hazard regression analysis to assess temporal association between cilostazol treatment and post-EVT restenosis. Five-year primary patency was higher in the cilostazol group than in the noncilostazol group (57% vs 47%, P < .0001). Cilostazol treatment was inversely associated with restenosis for the first 2 years following EVT (P < .05); however, no significant association was observed thereafter. Cilostazol use therefore appears efficacious in preventing restenosis up to 2 years after EVT for FP lesions.

Successful Percutaneous Coil Embolization of a Ruptured Internal Iliac Artery Aneurysm Remnant after Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair via the Deep Iliac Circumflex Artery

Here, we describe a case of an 83-year-old man treated with percutaneous IIA coil embolization for an enlarging remnant IIA aneurysm. CT scans revealed a contained rupture and persistent flow in the right IIA with the enlargement. We selected percutaneous embolization via the deep iliac circumflex artery, that was communicating with the superior gluteal artery and the IIA. Coil embolization of the arteries supplying the IIA aneurysm was successfully performed with 12 embolization coils placed in the IIA and its branches. The absence of blood flow and shrinkage of the aneurysm were confirmed by CT three months after embolization.

Impact of Diabetes Mellitus on Critical Limb Ischemia With Below the Knee Disease: Japan Below-the-Knee Artery Treatment Subanalysis

BACKGROUND

A strong association exists between diabetes mellitus and critical limb ischemia.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We performed endovascular therapy on 1060 limbs in 884 patients with below knee lesions only. The patients were divided into diabetes (DG) and nondiabetes groups (NDG). Limb salvage was poorer in the DG (79% vs 89%, P = .0061). No significant difference was observed in mortality, amputation-free survival (AFS), and target vessel revascularization (TVR). Multivariate analysis revealed diabetes status, infection, poor activity of daily living (ADL), younger age, and procedure failure as independent predictors of major amputation in DG. In the NDG, procedure failure was the predictor, and younger age and poor ADL showed tendency of major amputation.

CONCLUSIONS

Mortality, AFS, and TVR showed no significant difference between the 2 groups, but major amputation was more frequent in DG. Not only revascularization but also infection and diabetes control were very important for limb salvage in DG.

Evaluation of the paramalleolar bypass for critical limb ischemia patients on hemodialysis with diabetes mellitus and chronic renal failure

OBJECTIVE

To assess the influence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and end-stage renal failure on hemodialysis (HD) on the healing time of tissue lesions and blood flow to the foot following a paramalleolar bypass in patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI).

METHODS

Consecutive patients with CLI and tissue loss (24 limbs) were followed up retrospectively after paramalleolar bypass, and the healing time of tissue lesions, graft patency, limb salvage and survival rates were analyzed. The blood flow to the foot was assessed by skin perfusion pressure (SPP) pre- and postoperatively. The delta SPP was calculated as the difference between the SPP before and after bypass. The patients were divided into 3 groups: diabetic (DM, n = 9); diabetic and end-stage renal failure on hemodialysis (HD, n = 10); or neither (n = 5).

RESULTS

A total of 15 dorsal and 9 plantar artery bypasses were performed. The median follow-up was 7.3 months (range, 1-18 months). No patients required major amputations, and all tissue lesions healed. The mean duration to complete tissue healing of the DM, HD and neither groups was 2.2, 2.5 and 1.2 months, respectively, was and these were not statistically significant. A significant improvement in the delta SPP after paramalleolar bypass was observed in the neither group compared with both the DM and HD groups.

CONCLUSION

Blood flow to the foot was not sufficiently improved in CLI patients with DM and HD, despite paramalleolar bypass. This may be the cause of the prolonged tissue healing duration of CLI patients with DM and HD. (English Translation of Jpn J Vasc Surg 2012; 21: 91-95).

Seasonal variation in critical limb ischemia requiring endovascular therapy: an analysis of a multicenter database of Japanese patients with critical limb ischemia undergoing endovascular therapy

AIM

We investigated whether any seasonal variation is observed in the incidence, severity and prognosis of critical limb ischemia (CLI) requiring endovascular therapy.

METHODS

We analyzed a multicenter database of 1,568 consecutive CLI cases undergoing primary endovascular therapy for infrainguinal lesions between July 2004 and June 2011. The monthly incidence was assessed according to the cumulative number of cases in each month, using a simple moving average. The data were fitted to a nonlinear regression model with a cosine function. The monthly proportion of cases in each Rutherford classification among the overall CLI population was assessed using a multinomial logistic regression model. The monthly risk of major amputation was evaluated using a Cox proportional hazard regression model.

RESULTS

Significant seasonal variation was observed in the incidence of CLI (p＜0.01). It was higher in the period from winter to spring, with a peak in March, and lower in the period from summer to autumn, with a trough in September; the fold difference between the peak and trough was 2.2. The seasonal variation was more markedly observed in the cases with a more severe Rutherford class. The proportion of cases in each Rutherford class among the overall CLI population also exhibited significant seasonal variation (p＜0.01). In addition, the risk of major amputation demonstrated significant seasonal variation (p=0.03); however, the statistical significance was lost following adjustment for the Rutherford classification (p=0.10).

CONCLUSIONS

Seasonal variation is observed in the incidence and severity of CLI. The seasonality of the limb prognosis is likely explained by that of the CLI severity.

Comparison of clinical outcome after bypass surgery vs. endovascular therapy for infrainguinal artery disease in patients with critical limb ischemia

BACKGROUND

The efficacy of stent-assisted endovascular therapy (EVT) in patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI) compared to bypass surgery (BSX) remains unclear.

METHODS AND RESULTS

This study was performed as a multicenter retrospective registry. Between January 2004 and December 2009, 460 CLI patients (460 first treated limbs) who underwent BSX (237 patients) or EVT (223 patients) for de novo infrainguinal lesions were identified retrospectively and analyzed. The main endpoints of this study were amputation-free survival (AFS), overall survival, limb salvage rate and freedom from major adverse limb events (MALE; includes any repeat revascularization and major amputation). Three-year AFS, limb salvage rate and overall survival were not different between the BSX and EVT groups (60.3% vs. 58.0%, P=0.43; 85.1% vs. 84.2%, P=0.91; 67.2% vs. 69.8%, P=0.96, respectively), but freedom from MALE was significantly lower in the EVT group during follow-up (69.1% vs. 51.1%, P=0.002). After adjusting endpoints with covariates, there was also no significant difference in AFS, limb salvage, and overall survival between EVT and BSX. Freedom from MALE, however, was still significantly lower in the EVT group (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% confidence interval: 0.47-0.92, adjusted P=0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Serious adverse events with the exception of MALE after EVT seem to be acceptable compared to that after BSX in patients with CLI due to infrainguinal disease.