title: Reduction of ischaemic rest pain in advanced peripheral arterial occlusive disease. A double blind placebo controlled trial with iloprost.
abstract: Severe pain at rest is a major symptom of advanced peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD). Preliminary studies of treatment with iloprost, a prostacyclin analogue, showed encouraging results in patients with ischaemic rest pain. Therefore a randomized, placebo-controlled multicentre study was undertaken in 113 patients admitted to hospital with rest pain of at least 2 weeks duration caused by severe PAOD. The patients were randomly assigned to receive 2-week placebo or iloprost infusions for 6 hours per day at a dose of 0.5-0.2 ng/kg/min in addition to conventional care. Demographic data and arteriographic findings were similar in the two groups. Eleven patients withdrew from the study before completion and 102 patients could be included in the final analysis. Significantly more patients in the iloprost group (62.5% of 48) than in the placebo group (42.6% of 54) had complete relief of pain without analgesic therapy during at least five consecutive days at the end of the treatment period (p less than 0.05, chi 2-test). Facial flush, headache and nausea were the most common side effects during iloprost infusion. Serious adverse reactions did not occur. Thus, a 2-week iloprost infusion was shown to be safe and effective as a treatment for ischaemic rest pain caused by PAOD.
authors.affiliation: Vascular Surgical Department Evangelishes Krankenhaus, Ruhr, Germany.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Balzer
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bechara
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bisler
authors.forename: H D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Clevert
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Diehm
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Heisig
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Held
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mahfoud
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mörl
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rücker
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001157:Arterial Occlusive Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016285:Iloprost / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008593:Menopause; D008875:Middle Aged; D010166:Palliative Care; D016491:Peripheral Vascular Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012146:Rest
chemical_list: D016285:Iloprost