title: Drug-eluting stents remain the golden standard for below-the-knee occlusive disease.
abstract: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a chronic condition; an increasing number of patients affected. Infrapopliteal disease is related to critical limb ischemia (CLI). Amputation-free survival in these situations is the goal to achieve; it is well-known that life expectancy and quality of live are reduced by this condition. PAD is rarely isolated in one anatomical region when a CLI condition exists. The endovascular approach to lower limb infrapopliteal disease (BTK) has been constantly increasing in the last years trying to prevent a potential amputation. Even with the current endovascular armamentarium, BTK disease remains challenging, long and even midterm results remain uncertain. The rationale behind using drug-eluting stent (DES) at BTK is similar to other regions; deal with elastic recoil, treat potential dissections, deliver drug to the intima to prevent restenosis and reduce late lumen loss. Current evidence comprehensive review of the latest published results has been performed as well a comparison with other available reviews and meta-analyses. There is an increasing evidence for the use of DES in BTK disease, multiple platforms with different drugs had been evaluated and some good initial results had been published and presented recently. The safety of DES used in BTK occlusive has been clearly proven over the different studies performed in the last years. Good primary patency has been reported for balloon expandable DES but available studies focused on short/focal lesions. Current results support the use of DES in BTK region when a stent is necessary (bail-out) or the total lesion length is short. There is a clear benefit for primary patency, potential clinical benefits and, under these conditions, DES treatment seems to be cost-effective. Further investigation and technology improvement is required to apply these good results to longer and more diffuse lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Angiology and Vascular Surgery, Ourense University Hospital, Ourense, Spain - nmarochena@me.com.
authors.forename: Nilo J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Mosquera Arochena
mesh_terms: D000800:Angioplasty, Balloon / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation*; D002317:Cardiovascular Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003251:Constriction, Pathologic; D054855:Drug-Eluting Stents; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000098:blood supply*; D023821:Limb Salvage; D058729:Peripheral Arterial Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014654:Vascular Patency
chemical_list: D002317:Cardiovascular Agents