Reporting standards and statistics for evaluating intervention

Hybrid endarterectomy and endovascular therapy in multilevel lower extremity arterial disease involving the femoral artery bifurcation

The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of hybrid therapy (combined endarterectomy-endovascular) in patients with complex peripheral multifocal steno-obstructive vascular disease involving the femoral artery bifurcation. Forty-one combined procedures were performed on 40 patients. Although the common femoral artery was usually treated with endarterectomy, endoluminal procedures were performed proximally in 12 patients (group 1), distally in 18 patients (group 2), and both upward and downward in 11 patients (group 3). Patients underwent clinical assessment and ankle-brachial index measurement thereafter. Primary, assisted-primary, and secondary patency rates at 24 months were 59%, 66%, and 72%, respectively. Primary patency rates were lower in group 3 compared with groups 1 and 2 (P  =  0.015). The limb salvage rate was 86.4% at the end of the follow-up period. Hybrid procedures provide feasible and effective treatment management of selected patients with multilevel lower extremity arterial disease involving the femoral artery bifurcation.

Combined common femoral artery endarterectomy with superficial femoral artery stenting plus Shuxuening Injection infusion for chronic lower extremity ischemia: 3-year results

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the efficacy and safety of combined common femoral artery (CFA) endarterectomy with superficial femoral artery (SFA) stenting plus Shuxuening Injection infusion in patients with complex multifocal arterial steno-obstructive lesions of the lower extremities.

METHODS

From March 2006 to March 2011, 104 lower limbs in 96 patients with multilevel peripheral arterial steno-occlusive disease, involving SFA as well as CFA and deep femoral artery (DFA) orifice, were treated by combined surgical with endovascular therapy, such as SFA stenting as an adjunct to CFA endarterectomy and patch angioplasty with the great saphenous vein. Before the end of the operation, 20 mL of Shuxuening Injection was infused through the catheter located in the treated artery. Technical and hemodynamic success, as well as primary and primary-assisted patency, was determined according to the Society for Vascular Surgery Guidelines. During follow-up, clinical status assessment, ankle-brachial index (ABI) test, and duplex Doppler ultrasound were administered every 6 months, and computed tomography angiography or magnetic resonance angiography was performed at 12, 24, and 36 months after discharge.

RESULTS

All patients underwent successful combined CFA endarterectomy with SFA stenting treatment. The average ABI after the combination treatment increased from pretreatment of 0.32±0.21 to 0.82±0.24 (P<0.01). No perioperative death and major limb amputations occurred. The mean duration of follow-up for 104 limbs from 96 patients was 1,180 days (range, 196-2,064 days). During follow-up, 5 patients died due to myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction, or pneumonia, and 5 patients were lost to follow-up. There were 21 cases (21.4%) of restenosis, with 15 that occurred in-stent and 6 near the distal end of the stent. A total of 18 (18.3%) reinterventions were performed, including 6 balloon angioplasty, 8 restenting procedures, 2 bypass surgeries, and 2 major limb amputations. The primary patency rates were 92.2%, 76.8%, and 61.3% at 12, 24, and 36 months, respectively, while the primary-assisted patency rates were 94.4%, 83.2%, and 75.6% at 12, 24, and 36 months, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The combined CFA endarterectomy with SFA stenting plus Shuxuening Injection infusion appears to offer a safe, less invasive, and effective treatment option to patients with chronic lower extremity ischemia due to complex multifocal peripheral artery disease.

Systematic review of preservation methods and clinical outcome of infrainguinal vascular allografts

OBJECTIVE

We systematically reviewed clinical studies on the use of venous and arterial allografts for infrainguinal revascularization. We attempted to find evidence for the best infrainguinal vascular allograft by a systematic review of the available literature.

METHODS

An electronic search of the MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases was used to determine key articles from studies on the different types of vascular allografts used in infrainguinal reconstruction from 1966 to 2004. Articles were independently reviewed by using previously defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Study results were gathered with cumulative primary patency as the primary end point. Secondary end points were major complications, graft disintegration, and major limb loss. Quantitative analysis was performed on the prospective randomized trials, and linear regression analysis was performed on cumulative primary patency. Fontaine's classification system was applied.

RESULTS

No systematic review of randomized controlled trials was found. Five randomized controlled trials, 3 prospective cohort or case series, and 15 retrospective case series with 3,837 vascular allografts were found. Methods of allograft preservation were cryopreservation (5 studies), cold storage (3 studies), and glutaraldehyde preservation of human umbilical veins (15 studies). One-year cumulative primary patency rates were 13% to 79% for cryopreservation, 63% to 80% for cold storage, and 40% to 91% for glutaraldehyde. The weighted mean 1-year cumulative primary graft patency rate was 41% for cryopreservation, 71% for cold storage, and 70% for glutaraldehyde allografts. Four randomized trials on femoropopliteal bypasses demonstrated higher patency rates of glutaraldehyde-preserved human umbilical veins than polytetrafluoroethylene grafts. Statistical heterogeneity between studies (I(2) = 91.4%) was too high to perform a formal meta-analysis. The rate of major limb loss was 20% to 58% for cryopreservation, 10% to 69% for cold storage, and 0% to 65% for glutaraldehyde, and the percentage of graft disintegration was 2% to 6% for cryopreservation, 4% to 15% for cold storage, and 0% to 11% for glutaraldehyde.

CONCLUSIONS

A firm conclusion could not be made because there were no studies available in which direct comparison was performed between different preservation methods of vascular allografts. In addition, heterogeneity of the individual studies hampered direct comparison of different types of vascular allografts. However, the overall graft performance of glutaraldehyde-preserved human umbilical vein allografts may be superior to that of other vascular allografts.

Problems related to the definition of "distal" bypass and "secondary" patency rates. A paper for debate

The large variations observed in "distal" bypass patency rates and the abuse of life-table analysis have encouraged most Vascular Committees to develop standards for evaluating results. However, problems continue to persist. Some of these do not relate to statistical analysis but to the lack of definition of both secondary patency and "distal" when referring to arterial bypass grafts to the lower limb. We present various problems and propose some strict definitions for each type of infrainguinal reconstruction, based on the inflow and outflow levels, together with a modification of the definitions of primary assisted and secondary patency.

Reporting guidelines: another perspective

The following data are required when reporting results of a procedure for occlusive disease of the lower limb: (1) PREOPERATIVE PATIENT ASSESSMENT: This should include age, sex, diabetes, smoking habit, whether the ischemic symptoms are at rest or after exercise, and the resting ankle or toe pressure. (2) INTENTION TO TREAT: This should be stated as a percentage of the number of procedures that actually were properly performed against the number of procedures scheduled. Only those procedures that were performed should be subsequently analyzed. (3) ACUTE RESULTS: This is assessed by an imaging technique, such as angiography or duplex ultrasound, and defined in terms of patency and degree of maximal stenosis in the area treated and 5 cm on either side. Change in symptoms, complications, and ankle pressures should be reported but are not criteria for procedural success or failure. The assessment should be done from 10 to 30 days following the procedure. (4) LONG-TERM RESULTS: As assessed by appropriate imaging techniques, outcome should be reported in terms of primary, assisted primary, and secondary patency. The degree of maximal stenosis in the treated segments and 5 cm on either side should be stated. The surveillance intervals would depend on the answers being sought in the follow-up period, but the minimum would be an annual review. Three-year results are required to give an adequate assessment of the durability of a procedure. (5) REPORTING: Life-table analysis should be used to present the data on patencies and the degree of stenosis.