title: The effects of normalizing hyperhomocysteinemia on clinical and operative outcomes in patients with critical limb ischemia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the outcome of patients with medically treated hyperhomocysteinemia (HHC) requiring intervention for critical limb ischemia (CLI).
  
  
  METHODS
  A parallel observational study was conducted to compare the clinical and revascularization outcomes of CLI patients who received standardized treatment for HHC preoperatively (folic acid and vitamin B12) vs. contemporaneous patients with normal homocysteine levels. The threshold for HHC diagnosis was 13.0 μmol/L. From 2009 to 2011, 169 patients underwent revascularization procedures for CLI. Of these, all 66 patients (40 men; mean age 69.6 ± 11.2 years) with HHC (mean 17.3 μmol/L, range 13.5-34.9) were treated to normalize the homocysteine level prior to lower limb revascularization. The remaining 103 patients (58 men; mean age 72.7±8.1 years) had normal homocysteine levels (8.2 μmol/L, range 5-12.3) before revascularization. The primary endpoint was symptomatic and hemodynamic improvement in the treated HHC group. The secondary endpoints were all-cause survival, binary restenosis, reintervention, amputation-free survival, and major adverse events. The treated HHC cohort was compared to an age/sex-matched historical group of patients with untreated HHC from 2002 to 2006 before HHC pretreatment became routine. All interventions (endovascular, hybrid, and open) were performed by the same surgeon, and the groups were evenly matched.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with HHC were treated for a mean 12.2 days, which significantly reduced their mean homocysteine level after 3 weeks to 10.1 μmol/L (range 6.2-14.4, p<0.05). After revascularization, immediate clinical improvement was similar between normal homocysteine and medically corrected HHC groups. There was no significant difference in time to binary restenosis (p=0.822). Secondary endpoints and all-cause mortality were similar. Multivariate logistic regression showed that untreated HHC was a significant factor for graft occlusion and limb loss (p<0.0001), but medically corrected HHC was no longer predictive of adverse operative outcome.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with medically corrected HHC have similar outcomes compared to those with normal homocysteine levels. Thus, aggressively treating HHC with folic acid and vitamin B12 may help enhance the clinical outcome of CLI patients undergoing revascularization.
authors.affiliation: Western Vascular Institute, University College Hospital Galway, Ireland.
authors.forename: Peadar S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Waters
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Fennessey
authors.forename: Niamh
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hynes
authors.forename: Helen M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Heneghan
authors.forename: Wael
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tawfick
authors.forename: Sherif
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sultan
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000671:Amputation, Surgical; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D016638:Critical Illness; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D057510:Endovascular Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006710:Homocysteine / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D020138:Hyperhomocysteinemia / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D007511:Ischemia / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D023821:Limb Salvage; D016015:Logistic Models; D035002:Lower Extremity / Q000098:blood supply*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014654:Vascular Patency; D014805:Vitamin B 12 / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014803:Vitamin B Complex / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D006710:Homocysteine; D014803:Vitamin B Complex; D005492:Folic Acid; D014805:Vitamin B 12