Long-term outcomes after angioplasty of isolated, below-the-knee arteries in diabetic patients with critical limb ischaemia.
BACKGROUND
It has been shown that concomitant percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) of above-the-knee (ATK) and below-the-knee (BTK) arteries is highly beneficial for limb salvage in patients with critical limb ischaemia (CLI), but few published studies have specifically investigated outcomes in diabetic patients with CLI associated with isolated small BTK-vessel disease. This study aimed to evaluate the long-term results of successful PTA for limb salvage in such patients.


METHODS
From among the 634 patients with CLI in our database, we retrospectively selected a consecutive series of 101 diabetics (16%) with 107 critically ischaemic limbs (33 Rutherford 5 and 74 Rutherford 6) and no critical ATK lesion, who underwent PTA on isolated BTK lesions.


RESULTS
The limb salvage rate was 93% after a mean follow-up of 1048+/-525 days (2.9+/-1.4 years). Transcutaneous oxygen tension significantly increased after 1 month (18.1+/-11.2 vs. 39.6+/-15.1; p<0.05). After 1 year, target-vessel re-stenosis had occurred in 42% of the non-amputated limbs, nine patients (9%) had died because of medical conditions unrelated to PTA and three patients had undergone repeat PTA for recurrent CLI.


CONCLUSIONS
In our selected patient population with ischaemic diabetic foot and isolated BTK lesions, a successful endovascular procedure led to a high percentage of limb salvage at long-term follow-up.
Ferraresi
R
R
Division of Cardiology, IRCCS Fondazione, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Mangiagalli e Regina Elena, Via F. Sforza 35, Milan 20122, Italy.
Centola
M
M
Ferlini
M
M
Da Ros
R
R
Caravaggi
C
C
Assaloni
R
R
Sganzaroli
A
A
Pomidossi
G
G
Bonanomi
C
C
Danzi
G B
GB
D000368:Aged; D000671:Amputation, Surgical; D000800:Angioplasty, Balloon; D001157:Arterial Occlusive Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D001785:Blood Gas Monitoring, Transcutaneous; D017719:Diabetic Foot / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007511:Ischemia / Q000628:therapy; D023821:Limb Salvage; D035002:Lower Extremity / Q000098:blood supply*; D008297:Male; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies
D010100:Oxygen